After one hundred six years of life, Dorothy passed away two weeks ago. She was my son-in-law’s grandmother, the matriarch of her large family consisting of five children, eleven grandchildren, and thirty-two great grandchildren. Dorothy, whose father was a Pastor, married Ray who was also a Pastor. He passed away about a decade ago. Together they served congregations in Iowa. For the last seventeen years she resided in a pleasant assisted living facility, where they enjoyed her and loved celebrating her birthdays.

Dorothy was a Christian to the core; her faith unshakeable to the very end. In these later years she said, “Every night before I go to bed, I pray for God to take me home. And every morning when I wake up, I thank him for a new day.” Her prayer has been answered.

How many lives did Dorothy touch in that century plus that God kept her alive and alert? How many people in that assisted living home were encouraged by her faith and her attitude toward life? How blessed are the forty-eight surviving members of her family who had someone like Dorothy to look up to?

I attended her funeral service. It was a wonderful celebration of God’s grace and mercy as exhibited in Dorothy’s life. The scripture readings rang out in that church, proclaiming eternal truths: God is good; victory over sin and death are ours because of Jesus the Christ. The final hymn we sang that day was “For All the Saints”, a remarkable hymn of hope. Dorothy has now moved to her eternal home, joining that “great cloud” of witnesses who have gone before us. Be encouraged with these words:

Hebrews 12:1-2 (NIV) Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.