Note: This funeral sermon was for my best friend’s four year-old daughter who recently died of cancer after a valiant five month fight; I have included the father’s eulogy as an appendix, as it is extremely touching and illustrates the difference faith can make in one’s life. During the family’s five month ordeal, the father, an assistant principal at a Christian school, handed out sixty copies of the Purpose Driven Life, which has resulted in at least one nurse receiving Christ as Savior.
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Celebration of Life Service for Teanna Jean Baldwin
Welcome:
Good afternoon. I am Pastor Shane Symyrozum and this is Pastor Glenn Patrick; together we have been given the honor of leading today’s celebration of Teanna’s life. On behalf of the Baldwin family, I would like to thank you for being here, as your presence speaks of your concern and love for Wes and Delona and the rest of the family. Please know that your support, both today and over the past five months has been greatly appreciated.
Wes and Delona, on behalf of West Edmonton Christian Assembly we extend to you our deepest sympathy and our prayers. While none of us can say we know what you are going through, as your church family and friends, our hearts are broken with yours, and we commit to walk with you and support you through this tragic time.
While we are gathered today to celebrate the life of a vibrant young girl who brought an incredible amount of joy and profoundly inspired so many people over her five short years, we need to be honest in admitting that today’s memorial is far different from that of an elderly person who lived a long and full life. For most of us, I would imagine the last five months have been filled with more questions than answers, and while as Christians we know Teanna is in heaven, and that brings us comfort, in many cases our hearts are gripped with a pain that we have never known before.
And so this afternoon we will begin by opening our hearts and minds to the unshakeable truth of God’s Word. And we will ask God to be with us today and to hold our hand in the days to come, knowing that wherever two or more are gathered in His name He is with us.
Scripture Reading:
Let us be comforted today by the scriptures, as I read what the Bible has to say in regards to God’s unshakeable love and Heaven, our true home, where Teanna is this very moment.
Romans 8:35-39
“Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or are hungry or cold or in danger or threatened with death? No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from his love. Death can’t, and life can’t. The angels can’t, and the demons can’t. Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, and even the powers of hell can’t keep God’s love away. Whether we are high above the sky or in the deepest ocean, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Revelation 21:1-7,
“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." He said to me: "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son.”
What these scriptures teach us is that as soon as Teanna breathed her last labored breath on earth, she went to be in the arms of our Lord and she has no memory of the pain of this ordeal.
In her memory of the last five months, she will remember the kindness of caring doctors and nurses, but not the painful treatments.
She will remember the love in our eyes as we visited her, but not the sorrow and tears.
And she will remember the devotion of her family watching over her, but not their pain and fears.
And so our mourning today is not for her, but for the Baldwin family and for ourselves as we prepare for the time that will separate us until we see her again in heaven.
Invocation:
Let us bow our heads together in prayer. Dear Heavenly Father, God of all comfort and peace, we humbly bow before you now and thank you as we remember the many blessings you have given us. Especially the blessing you have given us in the life of Teanna. We thank you for the expressions of sympathy from family and friends. And we ask for your presence to abide with us this day; may we sense the comforting touch of your Holy Spirit in our midst. Father we also ask for a special measure of comfort and strength for Wes and Delona and Pierce and Mataya and the rest of the family. And while their loss is the greatest, an entire church and an entire school mourns with them. May we all sense your hand girding us even now, as well as in the days ahead. May we all know the comfort that only you can give in a time of great loss such as this. We ask these things in the name of our Lord. Amen.
Worship: I Lift My Eyes Up... (Ps.121) & In Christ Alone
At this time, Pastor Glenn will come and lead us in song.
Eulogy: Pastor Glenn Patrick.
Special Music: I Can Only Imagine by Kevin Tonn
Video Tribute: Mrs. Jodi Mireault
Meditation: "Anchors in the Storm" by Pastor Shane Symyrozum
Funeral Meditation for Teanna Baldwin
As we have come together to celebrate Teanna’s life, and commit her to the Lord, we all know that this has been an exceedingly difficult time, a time where the well of our human wisdom runs dry, and a time where we need to turn to God and His Word, for comfort, strength, and answers. This afternoon I would like to briefly draw our attention to the words that the God of this universe, Jesus Christ, chose to speak to his closest friends as he tried to prepare them for the tragic death which he would suffer 24 hours later on a cross just outside of Jerusalem. I share these words because Christ knew they would bring hope and comfort to His followers as they wrestled with His death, and in the same way, if taken to heart, they can bring us comfort in our time of loss.
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John 14:1-7: Jesus Comforts His Disciples
“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself; that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you know.”
Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going, and how can we know the way?”
Jesus said to him, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well."
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In this brief passage of scripture Jesus Christ speaks of 4 ANCHORS that have given believers throughout the ages, something firm to hold on to when the storms of life have begun to rage, as they have for many of us here today.
ANCHOR #1: Jesus speaks of a Prerogative. V.1
- Jesus began this discourse by saying, “You believe in God, believe also in me.”
- Jesus was imploring his followers to believe what he was about to say, and he was telling them that in spite of the loss they were about to suffer, in spite of life seeming to spiral out of control, they were to trust him.
- That is what Jesus was saying to his disciples as He was preparing them to face His death. And that is what Jesus is saying to Teanna’s family and friends here today as we try to come to grips with the loss of this precious child who held such a special place in so many hearts.
- You see, today, we have all been given the prerogative of trusting God, trusting that He is in control, in control during the good times and in control in the difficult times.
- Everyone here who mourns Teanna’s death has been given the prerogative to trust God and his timing. In the book of Ecclesiastes God says to us, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die.”
- If we exercise our prerogative to trust God in this time of loss, it will give us a peace that the Bible describes as one that “surpasses all understanding”. A peace that will allow us to face the future with a hope that there are better days ahead because Christ is in control and He can be trusted.
- But that same prerogative allows you to choose the destructive attitude which says, “God how could you allow this” or “God, I will never trust in you again because you are cruel and uncaring.” Friends, as a pastor I have seen this attitude and all it leads to is despair and bitterness and anger.
- Today Jesus is saying to all who grieve, “Trust me. Let me give you peace. I am in control.” I believe that this is the prerogative that Teanna would want all of you to exercise, to trust the Lord.
ANCHOR #2: Jesus speaks of a Place. V.2
- The next thing that Jesus spoke of that can bring us comfort today was a place, a place that he knew well.
- v. 2 says, “In my Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.”
- The place Jesus speaks of is a literal place. He called it his Father’s House. He spoke of the reality of Heaven. I am sure that all of us here today can close our eyes and remember vividly the homes we grew up in. Vividly recall all of the details of them and how good they were, how they were a place of safety, of comfort, of refuge. How all of life’s problems somehow were a little bit smaller when we were in our parent’s house.
- That is what Jesus is saying to us here today. He is saying that his Father’s house, which he called heaven, is a real place, a safe place, a comforting place, where all of this life’s difficulties have vanished.
- He is saying that life does not end at the moment of death. It’s not like that bumper sticker that says “LIFE IS HARD, THEN YOU DIE.” God is saying that for those of us who will place our faith in His Son Jesus Christ, life will go on for eternity in a safe place, a beautiful place, a place called heaven that is so wonderful, our human minds cannot begin to comprehend it. Accordingly, because God knew we would not be able to fully grasp the beauty and majesty of heaven, he framed it in scripture by telling us what would not be there.
Read Rev. 21:1-5 & 22:1-5:
- no sea 21:2
- no night 22:5
- no pain 21:4
- no death 21:4
- no sorrow 21:4
- no crying 21:4
- Today you can take strength in the fact that heaven is not just a notion or a mind set, as some would have you believe, but in fact it is more real than the ground we are standing on.
- And I would encourage you all in the days ahead, to read what Jesus, the one who created this world in 6 days, has to say about the world He told us that He was going to prepare for us. (If this one was created in 6 days, I can only dream of the masterpiece that He says He has been working on for almost 2000 years!).
ANCHOR #3: Jesus speaks of a Promise. v.3
- In v.3 Jesus made a promise to his disciples that He extends to us today. A promise that brings great hope to those who know him by faith. He says, “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”
- Jesus promises that if we have faith in our hearts that He was the Son of God, at the very moment that we breathe our last breath on earth, He will personally greet us in His heavenly Kingdom. The Bible says, “To be absent from the body, is to be present with the Lord.”
- To a believer in Christ, death will be the shortest thing we will ever experience and that is a great promise because for many people nothing is feared more than the uncertainty of death!
ANCHOR #4: Jesus speaks of a Provision. V.5-6
- I realize that many here today may be thinking, “Shane, these are great promises, but they do not apply to me. Shane, I haven’t lived a good enough life for God to grant me the peace you speak of. Or Shane, I have no clue of how I could ever make it to heaven.”
- Or you may be like Thomas (doubting Thomas), the disciple who said to Jesus, “Lord we do not know when you are going, and how can we know the way?
- He was saying to the Lord what probably many are feeling in their hearts right now, “Lord I want to be sure of my future in Heaven, Lord I don’t want to miss out on that great reunion that will last for eternity. But I am not sure how to get there. Lord I am not sure I am good enough to get there.”
- Jesus knew the feelings of helplessness and despair, feelings of doubt and personal unworthiness that plague all of us. That is why he gave us the provision we read of in v.5-7 when He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
- The certain hope of eternity with the Lord in heaven that we can have, is not based on our own strength, or our own good deeds. But God’s Word says it is based solely on placing our faith in the truth that God sent his Son to die on a cross, taking upon himself the punishment for our sins, so he can offer us a fresh start in life. This can only come as we surrender our life to him, asking him to forgive us and come into our heart to be our Lord and Savior, making us into the person he wants us to be. And it is only by doing this, that we can ever say we have come to KNOW the Lord.
- You see knowing about Jesus in your head doesn’t get you to heaven. It is having Him in your heart, experiencing his love and peace, trusting Him to lead each day of your life. This is what is meant by having a relationship with Christ, and this is what gives us meaning in this life and the certainty of heaven in the next.
CONCLUSION
** Wes & Delona have talked often about their daughter’s life and death having PURPOSE. In the sovereign mind of God, that PURPOSE may have been to showcase for some of you what faith in Christ really means, and bring you to the place where God is calling you to make a decision. Do I or don’t I KNOW Christ? Remember his words? “If you REALLY KNEW ME, you would KNOW my Father as well.” Now is the time to begin to know Him.
Congregational Hymn: It Is Well With My Soul
Offering Remarks & Closing Prayer: Pastor Glenn Patrick.
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TEANNA JEAN BALDWIN EULOGY
God brought Teanna Jean Baldwin into our lives on June 29, 2001. From the moment we first found out God was giving us another child, we prayed this child would grow up to know, love and serve the Lord all the days of its life. Teanna turned out to be more than we could have ever hoped for. And as we look back, we can say with all confidence that our very first prayers for her were answered completely, as she carried out God’s plan for her life with a courage and strength that not many people have witnessed. From the very first moment Delona and I held her in our arms, she possessed a special place in our hearts.
As parents, where and how do you begin to paint a portrait of five God-ordained years in a short time, but here goes. From the first day she came home from the hospital, we knew that God had made our family complete. Being a younger sister to Pierce and Mataya cold have been hazardous to her health, but from day one, Teanna was treasured and treated with gentle care by her big brother and sister, and that care remained constant until she went home to the Lord a few short days ago. If you knew our family, you would know that Teanna was Mataya’s best friend, playmate, and for the most part, obedient servant, until a few years ago when you would hear the stern, and increasingly frequent, yell “MA-TA-YA!!!!!!!!!” (read phonetically emphasizing each syllable).
Teanna as most of you know was a real character. While the stories are too many to share, we will never forget the day her and her friend Elijah felt the need to express their artistic giftings with nail polish across both of their bodies in our newly renovated house; thank you for standing on the tile instead of the carpet. Or the time I awoke at 3:30 in the morning as she so lovingly applied Chap-Stick to my lips. We will always carry the feeling of having our faces grabbed by her precious little hands, sometimes gently, other times not. We will never forget how she loved to show anyone and everyone her treasured Dora the Explorer underwear with a quick flip of her dress. Or how she showed her concern for others’ safety as she told complete strangers to make sure they locked the door behind them as they entered our house. We will always hear her soft and expressive voice as she would tell us that her favorite ride at Disneyland was “Pirates of the Bean” or that her favorite story was “Cinderbella.” As much as it drove me crazy I will never forget the time when she showed her love for me by licking the sweat from the crown of my head as she rode on my shoulders after I mowed our lawn.
I think it is safe to say that Teanna loved life. She passionately loved Dora the Explorer and Hello Kitty. She loved to steal a quick gulp of anyone and everyone’s coffee while they weren’t looking. She loved making cookies and having tea parties with her mom, and baking biscuits with me on most Saturday mornings. She loved bath time with her sister where they played ‘My Little Pony’ till the water went cold. And she loved as Pierce would take her side when she argued with Mataya. She loved snuggles at night and singing and dancing with me to our favorite song “I Can Only Imagine” or singing for all who would listen, songs she learned in Sunday School such as: “My God is So Big” or “Deep and Wide.” She loved dresses and absolutely hated pants; it was always a struggle to get her to wear them. In every sense of the word, she really was and still is, our Little Princess.
We have always felt our most important job as parents was to raise our children to know and trust the Lord, and so a great number of our memories will be related to things of faith. From an early age, Teanna’s prayers were especially poignant and meaningful. She never thought life was by chance, but when people would say to her “Aren’t you lucky?” she would quickly reply, “I’m not lucky I’M BLESSED!” While the Bible implores us to have the faith of a child, Delona and I have come to really understand what this means through our precious little girl as her life became a living example of what it means to trust in things unseen.
While in many ways she was a normal little girl, not much different from her peers in Sunday School, the last five months allowed her to showcase our family’s faith in Christ, in a way that no parent ever imagines, but nonetheless, shows the difference that a deep and abiding trust in God, regardless of the circumstance, can make in one’s life. On February 1st our doctor called us late one night and instructed us to take Teanna to the hospital immediately, where she was later diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia known as JMML. From that moment on, our lives were changed forever and we began a journey that has been difficult beyond description, but yet one in which we have experienced in a way that words cannot describe, God holding us in his hand and sustaining us with his strength. A song that has become very meaningful to us has been “The Voice of Truth,” in which the chorus says:
“The voice of truth tells me a different story,
the voice of truth says DO NOT BE AFRAID,
the voice of truth says this is for my glory,
out of all the voices calling out to me,
I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth.”
While she was in and out of the hospital for about two weeks while we awaited the results of tests, on February 13 she became a permanent fixture in the Stollery’s pediatric intensive care unit right up until last Wednesday when she went to be with the Lord as we lovingly held her in our arms. Throughout these last few months we have been challenged, sometimes moment by moment, to believe the eternal truths of God’s Word, over what we were seeing unfold before our eyes. From the day Teanna was born, we have believed the truth of the Bible which says that every day of Teanna’s life was planned and written in God’s book, before her first day on this earth came to be, and that no matter how difficult the situation or circumstance, God will use ALL the events of our life to bring about something good that is of eternal value.
And while most parents have a lifetime to share with their kids, the last five years have been full and have allowed us to store up treasures in heaven that we will enjoy with our daughter for eternity. While many people here cannot fathom how God’s purpose can be accomplished through the death of a child, we have already seen this come to pass when we received the following letter written by one of her primary care nurses which we have received permission to share with you here today:
“Dear Wes and Delona,
I have sat at the computer for a day now thinking of how I was going to condense how Teanna’s life has changed mine into a letter short enough for you to read. I’d like to start with the obvious, she brought me to God. It was not by mistake that I met your family and it was not by chance that Teanna grabbed hold of my heart and I began to primary for her. This was all part of a bigger plan that god had for all of us. I remember spending a lot of time with Delona in the beginning mainly because I worked Days and Wes was in at the very end of my shift. I began to open up about some of the things that had happened in my life to Delona, which is unusual for me to do, but I could feel a sense of safety with her. She listened and did not judge, something most people don’t do, and shared a few of her vulnerable moments with me as well. For this I will always be grateful to her. Wes finished his Masters and began to hang around in Teanna’s room more often. I still had not talked much with him other than telling him it was OK to give Teanna ice chips when I was the nurse on but no ice caps from Tim Horton’s. One Day Wes was reading his bible at the bedside, not an unusual event for him, and pointed to a verse in the bible and told me to read it. I did and he must have sensed the fact that I did not understand it very well because he asked me about my faith. I told him that while I had been searching for something I had yet to find it. I then felt safe telling him of my experiences as well, again something I rarely do with anyone, and was shocked to find that he had been through some of the same. Day after day we continued to talk about faith, god, and the bible. He and Delona gave me a book, The Purpose Driven Life, and I was able to read a chapter a day and discuss with them areas I was unclear of and get their insight in to what I had just read. It wasn’t long after starting this book that I gave myself to the lord and developing a relationship with Jesus and God. It was because of Teanna that I was able to do this. (Wes and Delona are of huge part of it as well)
Secondly, Teanna taught me how to love a patient more than I ever have. As you both know Teanna was the first child I ever signed up to constant care for. Spending months with one child and the relationship you develop with them is unbelievable. I would never think twice about scooping her up on to my lap when she was off the ventilator and reading to her until you got there. If she was ventilated I would sit by her bed and read to her. I loved washing her gorgeous curly hair with Delona and sneaking her ice chips as often as I could. She is the only one that could have ever made me and my whole family run around Rexall Place to get peoples’ pom poms after hockey games and I loved seeing her win money from her dad.
Thirdly, Teanna taught me how to fight for life even against all the odds. This little girl had so much drive to live and stay awake. It is unbelievable how she managed to wake while on such sedation. I believe that this will to live has allowed her, Wes and Delona to touch more lives and make a difference.
Finally, Teanna showed me how much comfort can come to following the lord. I remember Wes and Delona hating people telling them how strong they were. You always said it was just that you had a comfort in knowing that Teanna will be taken to God and that it is out of your hands. This is something not many parents could have handled. As you both know Teanna was the first child to have ever passed away while I was there. I would like to thank you both as well as Teanna for allowing me to spend such an intimate moment with you all. Our final prayer together has meant the world to me and I thank you for letting me be a part of that also. There are so many other little things that Teanna has done to change my life and I’m sure that there are many more that I have yet to even recognize yet. I have been blesses to have met her and your entire family and I will hold you in my hearts forever. Thank you so much for changing my life and I hope that someday I can return the gift. With love, from Christa.”
One of Jesus’ last challenges to his followers was to “Go into all the world and preach the good news.” We believe with all of our heart that God’s purpose for Teanna’s life, apart from her being our Princess, was to go into the Stollery and through the example of her life, share the good news with all who came into her room. While only heaven will reveal the full impact of her life, the web-page devoted to her journey recently surpassed 31,000 hits, and so we are confident that countless people who would otherwise maybe never hear of the forgiveness and meaning that only Christ can offer, have in fact heard. And while our hearts in this earthly life will always have one empty corner, we hold onto the hope that our daughter’s life will in the end have pointed many people to Christ.
I would also like to take a moment to express our gratitude to the staff of both the Oncology and PICU wards at the Stollery Children’s Hospital. You have all been not only dedicated caregivers, but in a real way have become a part of our family. Over the last five months we have laughed and cried and shared emotions that are normally reserved for close family and friends. Suffice to say, we view you all as both. Please know that we have appreciated the courage, skill and compassion with which you carry out what we believe is your calling.
It’s impossible to thank all of the people who have assisted us over these difficult months, but we do want to make special mention of Nana, Papa and Auntie Jana. Words cannot express our gratitude. As well, we need to thank our church and school families for truly being the hands and feet of Jesus.
I want to conclude with an entry in my journal dated June 30th:
“Teanna, you are in everything. Everywhere I go you fill my mind. I hear a little girl call out and I think of you. I think of coming home everyday where you would call out “Daddy’s home! Daddy’s home!! And I would come to the door and your little hands are pressed to the window with wide, beautiful brown eyes, anticipating my arrival, and you smile. I can still hear your laugh echoing in the hall, “Throw me up Daddy. Throw me higher!”
I walk and you are beside me. You say “Come Daddy, come play with me” and off we go onto our next adventure. Oh Lord what I would give to hold Teanna one more time… to hide with her in the house… to chase her… just one more underduck.
My heart is so heavy, saturated with our memories of my little princess. I can’t possibly describe to you how heavy my heart is, yet how full at the same time. Your prayers so full and heartfelt. The endless snuggles and the warmth of your body. The precious kisses, one-two-three, always placed purposefully and full of love. A hand lifted up, cupped and waving. You have truly done my heart good. And your spirit, so full of God’s strength. You have truly made me proud of what you have been through over these past months.
And our song, “I Can Only Imagine.” How we endlessly danced together to our song. How appropriate my beautiful girl. I can only imagine you in heaven now fulfilling your life’s dream as a dancer and singer.
Teanna, you have taught so much, to so many. I am overwhelmed at the number of people you have reached and affected. All your life, all I have ever heard from people is how you have truly impacted the people around you with your beautiful spirit.
I don’t know why God has taken you down this path, but we have seen the perfect healing. You are totally healed and with your Savior, and I can’t wait to be with you again. It will be a good day when I rejoice with you in heaven one day soon! I love you. my beautiful precious princess…
Your Dad. ”
Oh my Little Princess, while we don’t know if you are able to hear these words right now, we want you to know that you will always be Mommy AND Daddy’s little girl, our Sweet Pumpkin Pie. I am so sorry Teanna… there are no words to describe right now what you mean to us and how we will miss you and so I will end with a poem I wrote as I sat at your bedside one long night:
TEANNA MY DEAR
The hand of God is righteous and true
It helps me express my love for you.
It comes from a faith never seen or heard
And it can be related in one simple word.
It is built on hope, people often ask why
Given by grace that no one can buy.
Through care and compassion we have chosen to give
The meaning of your name so others may live.
So just believe in Salvation with nothing to fear
Because God is so gracious, Teanna my dear.
