Those that Went before
Today my family buried the last of my Otto and Mable's (my Great Grandparents) five children. It was a touching ceremony in which the Pastor made sure that all in attendance were aware of my Uncle's (Howard) faith, just as the pastor did when my Grandfather (Lester) passed away six years ago. I know there were some at the funeral who believed it to be "too preachy" and not enough about Howard. The same people were likely those who complained about it when Grandpa passed but I can say, I hope that when it is my turn to go up "yonder" the pastor will make my funeral less about me and more about Jesus.
For myself, the mention of my Uncle and Grandfather's faiths has special significance. You see, when I was a little girl, my parents did not go to church. Sunday mornings were for sleeping in and watching golf (okay that was mostly for Dad but Mom didn't attend church either). Likely, we would have followed the same path if not for my Grandparents (Lester and Adell). Every Sunday morning with few exceptions my Grandparents picked us up for Sunday School like clock work. We attended church with Howard, his wife Marilyn, Grandma and Grandpa, and many cousins (including 2nd, 3rd, and even a few 4th cousins). It really was a family church. It was at this church where I came to know Jesus as my Lord and Savior and where my faith first began to blossom, all because of many who have now gone Home before me. But it was not just within the walls of the church, that my faith was nurtured.
My Grandfather and Uncle Howard were not saint, though to a Granddaughter's eyes Grandpa came very close, but they were hard working, honest, and loving men of God. Their love for God was far more than mere lip service. I do not ever remember hearing Grandpa or Howard "preach" as the world refers to it, but they demonstrated their love for God in their treatment of others. I rarely heard Grandpa speak ill about someone out of their presence, having the belief that if you had a problem with someone, that someone should be the first to know. And I remember his first reaction to an "enemy" (though I doubt Grandpa had anyone who would call him enemy) was to kill them with kindness. Put simply, Grandpa and Uncle Howard were men of faith who led by example as did so many others in my family who have gone Home.
I would say that I am lucky to have been part of a family full of so many women who loved the Lord but I know luck had nothing to do with it. I know that God in his unfailing wisdom placed me there. It was His love that provided me with the examples of faith I had growing up, knowing that it would be those examples that would carry me through my own rocking seas and stormy skies. And truly they have. I have thought what it must have been like for my Grandparents generation to have grown up in the depth of poverty during the Great Depression, watched as insanity by the name of Hitler waged war against the world, and fearfully kissed their families goodbye as they went off to fight in Europe and the South Pacific. How they struggled to raise their children in the atomic age, watched their own sons head off to war in Korea and Vietnam, and witness the "free love" generation in all its moral depravity. All of this while holding onto the only thing that truly matters, the Love of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
So as I think of those who have gone before me into their Heavenly home, Uncle Max, Aunt Florine, Aunt Lil, Aunt Marilyn, Uncle Howard, Great Grandma Mundt, Aunt Beverly, Lester (Grandpa) Mundt, and the many others, I want to say thank you and I praise God for having been blessed to have you in my life! And I anxiously await the day we will be together again.
For myself, the mention of my Uncle and Grandfather's faiths has special significance. You see, when I was a little girl, my parents did not go to church. Sunday mornings were for sleeping in and watching golf (okay that was mostly for Dad but Mom didn't attend church either). Likely, we would have followed the same path if not for my Grandparents (Lester and Adell). Every Sunday morning with few exceptions my Grandparents picked us up for Sunday School like clock work. We attended church with Howard, his wife Marilyn, Grandma and Grandpa, and many cousins (including 2nd, 3rd, and even a few 4th cousins). It really was a family church. It was at this church where I came to know Jesus as my Lord and Savior and where my faith first began to blossom, all because of many who have now gone Home before me. But it was not just within the walls of the church, that my faith was nurtured.
My Grandfather and Uncle Howard were not saint, though to a Granddaughter's eyes Grandpa came very close, but they were hard working, honest, and loving men of God. Their love for God was far more than mere lip service. I do not ever remember hearing Grandpa or Howard "preach" as the world refers to it, but they demonstrated their love for God in their treatment of others. I rarely heard Grandpa speak ill about someone out of their presence, having the belief that if you had a problem with someone, that someone should be the first to know. And I remember his first reaction to an "enemy" (though I doubt Grandpa had anyone who would call him enemy) was to kill them with kindness. Put simply, Grandpa and Uncle Howard were men of faith who led by example as did so many others in my family who have gone Home.
I would say that I am lucky to have been part of a family full of so many women who loved the Lord but I know luck had nothing to do with it. I know that God in his unfailing wisdom placed me there. It was His love that provided me with the examples of faith I had growing up, knowing that it would be those examples that would carry me through my own rocking seas and stormy skies. And truly they have. I have thought what it must have been like for my Grandparents generation to have grown up in the depth of poverty during the Great Depression, watched as insanity by the name of Hitler waged war against the world, and fearfully kissed their families goodbye as they went off to fight in Europe and the South Pacific. How they struggled to raise their children in the atomic age, watched their own sons head off to war in Korea and Vietnam, and witness the "free love" generation in all its moral depravity. All of this while holding onto the only thing that truly matters, the Love of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
So as I think of those who have gone before me into their Heavenly home, Uncle Max, Aunt Florine, Aunt Lil, Aunt Marilyn, Uncle Howard, Great Grandma Mundt, Aunt Beverly, Lester (Grandpa) Mundt, and the many others, I want to say thank you and I praise God for having been blessed to have you in my life! And I anxiously await the day we will be together again.
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