Thank you for your prayers! I felt them mightily, and God granted me composure to lead Molly's service. There were 800+ in attendance, some 150 of whom stood for the 70 minute program. Molly would have loved a standing room only crowd to hear about Jesus. And they did!
She was remembered with laughter and tears by dear friends and family -- several of whom witnessed to her faith. I was honored to deliver the gospel message to the crowd in what I pray was a simple, concise, and personal way. Later, a woman came up to me and said, "I can't believe you were bold enough to just lay out the gospel in a public university building."
I must say, it hadn't occurred to me that it might be an issue for some. Oh well! Thank you, God, that I don't worry about such things.
As the service ended, it was sad to notice that we never get all our "peeps" in the same room until our funeral. I met so many awesome women who were also Molly's friends -- and her sister, brothers, and nieces were so very welcoming of me as family. It's hard to know that few of the "we have to get together again" and "we need to have lunch" comments/intentions will likely come to pass.
In a way, a circle is broken, because Molly had been the hub.
On the other hand, it was so cool to see Molly's daughter Haley with her friends after the service. Haley was in the middle of a circle of girls -- laughing. A new circle formed...
My friend Jeff reminded me that heaven is the big, unbroken circle with enough time to connect with everyone. Glimpses here. Reality there.
'til then, Molly, goodbye!
The picture makes me cry even before I read the words. How INTERESTING that you never even thought about the ballroom as a "public place" before you shared the gospel---and you such an intelligent woman! I wonder WHO arranged that?! Hmmmmm......
ReplyDeleteMolly was irreplaceable---never met anyone quite like her and never will. We met one day...got talking...and continued our conversation until 2 months before she died. It was always easy---always fun---always good.