Lyle, Mark and Marilyn, family and friends of Glenda:
Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen!
[Resting From Her Labors]
All throughout Glenda’s life, the Triune God – the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit – provided for all of her needs of body and soul. The Lord gave her faith at the waters of Holy Baptism, and the Lord sustained that faith. Today, Glenda is now resting from her labors.
As you may know, Glenda was a twin – and despite being the smaller of the two – she survived, but her twin sister died shortly after birth. She and Lyle also experienced the loss of their son Michael when he was 12 years old. In life, she certainly experienced her share of heartache. God gives and He takes away. We – on this side of heaven – don’t know why He does the things He does and we are free to question Him, but His will is always good. But also as is life, Glenda experienced so many celebrations. She enjoyed traveling. She especially enjoyed her travels to Europe and Alaska, but also those weekend trips through the mountains of Colorado.
Glenda was devout to her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Here at Prince of Peace, she was one to get involved in various activities, such as altar guild and Bible studies. However, to many at Prince of Peace, Glenda and the church kitchen were synonymous. For some reason, when discussing anything about the church kitchen, Glenda’s name always seems to come up.
Throughout her life, Glenda was blessed by God. She was blessed to be a wife and mother. She was blessed to be a grandmother and great-grandmother. Among these blessings, she cherished every moment of family time. On occasion, she would ask, “Have you heard anything from the boys?” The boys being her grandsons. She thoroughly enjoyed hearing the latest from her grandsons. But her greatest blessing is receiving the gift of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone!
Today, Glenda is resting from her labors as she has received the promise of eternal life as she has joined the Church Triumphant in heaven! As Glenda experienced loss during her earthly life, today, we are also experiencing loss. With any separation, we come to a time of mourning. We mourn because death is not natural. Now, some mourn publicly, while others mourn privately. But we all mourn. You see, humanity was not created to die. But due to our first parents – Adam and Eve – we all die, because “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23a). And, so we mourn. But mourning is a good and godly work. Why’s that? Well, Jesus wept at the death of His friend Lazarus. Jesus wept because He loved His friend, so weeping and mourning the death of any loved one is a good work.
We Christians mourn the reality of death. We mourn because we were never intended to die and should live forever. But we do not mourn as those who have no hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13). We mourn, but our mourning is mixed with hope. Our tears are mixed with faith. Our sadness is mixed with joy in the Lord’s promises. So, what are the Lord’s promises? Well, our Scripture readings are just that! Psalm 23 portrays our life here on earth “now”. Revelation 7 points to the “not yet” that Glenda is now experiencing in heaven.
[The Valley]
Our whole life here on earth is lived under the shadow of our enemy: death. Certainly, our life has its joys and celebrations. Yet our life is also lived under a shadow, an overcast sky that won’t go away even as we celebrate and laugh. This shadow of death is the sad reality we have since the Fall into sin.
This journey through the valley of the shadow of death can seem like a lonely walk that ends in defeat. But we who are in Christ have the Good Shepherd’s promise that we do not walk alone. With us walks the Shepherd who has trod this same path before us. This Shepherd is Jesus who stands beside us today in our grief to give us guidance and direction.
This Shepherd is who walked into the valley of the shadow of death. He left the brilliance of heaven, descended to earth, was conceived by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and took upon Himself our human flesh and became one of us, though without sin. His perfect life was a display of God’s merciful love and care for all people. He used His power to forgive sin and overcome death, disease, and the devil. He healed the sick, raised the dead, and cast out demons. But all the while, His ministry had one direction as He was led to the cross. There, the sinless Lamb of God was made to be sin for us – as He took upon Himself all our sins. He died in our place as the atoning sacrifice and rose from the dead for our justification. Through His death and resurrection, the Good Shepherd brought us grace.
Jesus, the Good Shepherd, is the One who walks through the valley with us. With Him by our side, He gives us rest in “green pastures.” With Him by our side, He raises us from death to life through the “still waters” of Baptism. With Him by our side, He “restoreth my soul.” With Him by our side, He leads us on the right path, because Jesus is the righteous path.
We are never alone as we travel in the valley of the shadow of death in our life now. The Lord Jesus has walked it before and He is walking it with us today and every day.
Throughout our life, Jesus is walking with us. He is right at our side leading. For everyone in Christ, He calls us His friends (John 15:15). Now, what does Jesus mean here by “friend”? Is He just a buddy? No, much more than that! The hymn “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” was one of Glenda’s favorites. Through our singing, Jesus invites us to stand in awe and gratitude that He who reigns over all creation now treats His people – who were once His enemies, due to sin – as His friends.
Throughout the hymn, God invites us to pray. Oh, and this is a peace we often forfeit when we decline the invitation to pray. Throughout this hymn, we are reminded of the everyday difficulties, which are sometimes faith-challenging trials, but no matter what while we live in the shadow of death now, we have a Friend who is always faithful and He always fulfills His promises. And, He always knows the best answer to our prayers.
[The Mountaintop]
In this valley, Jesus leads us and answers our prayers. From the valley of this life, we will one day come to the mountaintop. We heard of this mountaintop in Revelation 7. Upon this mountaintop, we see “a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes” (Revelation 7:9).
So, who are these people “clothed in white robes?” Well, these people are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation – that is, out of the valley of the shadow of death. Among this Church Triumphant is Glenda. She and all the faithful are now standing before the throne, because their robes have been made white through the blood of the Lamb. Jesus died in the valley, so that all by grace through faith in Him might live on the mountain.
Glenda is now arrayed in white among the faithful in heaven. She is there because she believed in Jesus as the only Savior from sin. Upon her death, Glenda came out of the valley of the shadow of death and is now singing on the mountaintop with her fellow saints. They sing because they are free from all pain and sorrow, because in the presence of the Good Shepherd, sin has no power over them. Jesus has wiped away ever tear from their eyes as they hunger no more, neither thirst anymore. Glenda and her fellow saints are completely satisfied!
Glenda heard the Shepherd’s voice and followed Him while in the valley (John 10:27) and she is now with Him on the mountaintop. By God’s grace, we may one day join her. By grace through faith in Jesus, our destination is with the saints arrayed in white!
But heaven is not the end! There is more to come! Paul writes: “Behold! I tell you a mystery … In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye ... For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed” (1 Corinthians 15:51,52). You see, death does not have the final say. Life has the final say. Since Christ has been raised from the dead, we too, will also be raised on that glorious resurrection day! Amen.
The peace of God which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.
+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +
Glenda Marie Anderson Obituary:
https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/name/glenda-anderson-obituary?id=36543160
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