I recently lost my mother-in-law to cancer. Twice she had beat it with great beauty and poise. The third time, however, proved too much. She fought a good fight but in the end, the aggressive disease overcame her frailty.
Those of us left behind daily experience the soreness from the lonely void of losing someone dear. You see, Sheila--known affectionately to our family as Mimi--was someone whose life shone brightly against the dismal landscape of hardships. You could call her up at any given time for a dose of 'sunshine on a cloudy day'. In short, Mimi was our family's biggest cheerleader. After a visit or phone call, you stood a little taller and felt a bit more confident to tackle whatever obstacle was currently in front of you. In the book of Acts, we are introduced to a man known as 'Barnabus' which means 'Son of Encouragement'. There is much to be gleaned from the life of Barnabus in the scriptures and I encourage you to study this Godly man who accompanied Paul on the first (of many) missionary journeys. I picture Barnabus as a kind-hearted and gentle soul, universally liked by all. Perhaps Barnabus and Paul were such a fine team on those early trips because they were such opposites? Could it be that Barnabus softened the edges of Paul's intense forthrightness with his tender and generous affection?
Soften the edges...indeed that was what Mimi did as our family's Barnabus. She softened the blow of life's hardships by helping us see the silver lining. I honestly sometimes pictured her on the sidelines with her pom-poms held high, waving us on down the field towards the end zone. She constantly reminded us of who we could be. She believed in our potential and spoke it over us on a regular basis. You see, the word encouragement has the word 'courage' right in the middle of it. With her encouragement, she imparted courage. Courage to face the scary or hard. Here's the thing though, lest you think it was some kind of pep talk full of psychological-feel-good babble. Mimi's message was doused and lathered up in God's unconditional love. His love ignited and gave life to her words. There was a song some years ago by Toby Mac called 'Speak Life'. Some of the words of that song include:
Lift your head a little higher
Spread the love like fire
Hope will fall like rain
When you speak life with the words you say
Raise your thoughts a little higher
Use your words to inspire
Joy will fall like rain when you speak life with the things you say
That's exactly what she did. She spoke love. She spoke life. And it rained down joy and hope no matter our circumstances.
Often it's time to enter a new season whether or not we feel equipped and ready. With Mimi's recent passing came a passing of the baton. Nothing would make her prouder than for those of us that knew her to carry on her cheerleading. It's our turn to take up those pom-poms and offer strength through words. It's time to take all that we've learned through her many years of support and fan it into flame for God's glory. I know if she were here, she would also gently remind us of a very important thing: it wasn't actually her doing all that encouraging life-speak, but God in her. She was just the willing vessel.
God knows how clumsy and ill-timed we are. He knows the passing of the baton may not be smooth. In fact, we most likely will drop it a time of two. But are we willing to try? It's not the falling down but the getting back up and striving towards the finish line that matters.
Every time we choose to speak God's life-giving words to those around us, Mimi lives on. May we grab that baton and run the race that her legacy has called us to! I can see her proudly jumping up and down, waving us on from the sidelines, can't you?
