Wednesday, November 24, 2021                              (today’s lectionary)
Memorial of Saint Andrew Dung-Lac, Priest and Companions, Martyrs
Margaret’s words on Monday night
Fire and heat, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.
On the Monday evening after Mom’s visitation and funeral, to give us a way to share our words, our daughter Andi coordinated a zoom call with her siblings and cousins, and with Margaret and I, Mary Kay and Jim, John and Karen. She put together music and pictures, and our hour together was a sweet time for us to share more memories and thoughts about the precious person we all had just lost.
Jesus assured his listeners, “Do not prepare your defense beforehand. I myself will give you a wisdom in speaking.
Margaret prepared this to read, and we would love to share it with you as well:
ANGIE
Always a lady
As I heard myself talking that night at visitation things became clearer. Dave kept slipping up and calling it a reception.
Angie was raised in the depression era, seeing people die of hardships, the flu, etc. That leaves you frugal. She and her sister, our Aunt Mary shared together their memories of meals like bread & butter sandwiches, with no protein. Wisdom says that rules kept you from dying.
BUT — as a friend asked me if she and I were being “proper” before the service began, my answer reflected both my long knowledge of the proper lady, Angie, who while barely out of her teens took control of teaching in a one room schoolhouse.
Yes! THAT LADY WOULD INSIST ON THE PROPER PROTOCOLS and that all the rules be followed!
Yet, that grace- filled ( check out how many of her grandkids have the name Grace) survivor that Angie became and that I now knew had insisted she be buried in her gorgeous flaming red colored pants suit. She demanded red shoes too! So think about it. Only the person dressing her for her final curtain call in the casket would see her feet. I felt assured that she knew it was a party she was attending, and so that’s how I “behaved” myself.
By your perseverance you will secure your lives.
During those two visitation and funeral days I heard so many church friends and community people share so fondly and with such intensity about the impact Roland and Angie had on them and others they knew.  How their lives were filled with serving, teaching and, in my words, “just quietly holding up their end of the boat.”
A LIFETIME – 99 ½ years is a long time to fill, so if that is my lot too, I can only hope that when I put on my own red shoes to collect my eternal hugs, that the same can be said of me.
 (Daniel 5, Daniel 3, Revelation 2, Luke 21)
(posted at www.davesandel.net)
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