I never knew Lisa Le Blanc. She was my stepmother-in-law’s sister. Lisa died last Monday after a long struggle with hepatitis. She was only 43. The memorial service was a very painful one, even for someone who had never met her. The most painful part was the slide show shown at the end of pictures from her life. She was simply a beautiful child, a beautiful teenager, a beautiful woman and a beautiful mother. She left behind two beautiful daughters and two beautiful grandchildren, one only 21/2 months old.
The absolute hardest thing about the funeral was the fact that unless Lisa did so unknowingly to her family, she never trusted Christ as her Savior. My stepmother, one of the most godly women I know, prayed for her daily that God would lead her to salvation. Now, my prayers are for Claudia, that her faith will not be shaken in the least by this. That’s a tall order, I know. But Claudia’s faith has shown itself time and again. She has one of the kindest faces and smiles that I have ever seen.
I look back on this week, one that was one of the toughest of my life, and I count myself somewhat lucky. Sure, my car exploded and was wife was diagnosed with colitis, but death tends to really put things in perspective. I have a wife, beautiful and vivacious. I have my health. And most importantly, I have a wonderful relationship with my Savior.
Ironically, yesterday’s Sunday School lesson at my in-law’s Baptist church was on hell. It was very hard to sit there and listen after what I had been through the day before. But my spirit told me that despite the theological issues that I was having with the sermon (very, very dispensational), it was necessary to hear. Hell is a hard pill to swallow, but a very necessary doctrine.
I do believe that a sense of urgency was ignited in my life. I did realize that I am friends with many people that do not know Christ. Not saying anything to them about their soul’s destination is simply not being faithful to my corner of the vineyard. It’s hard reality, but a necessary one.