Key Scripture. Galatians 2:20

I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live;

Relevance

"A quiet and humble woman and a gentle lady!" Those were words spoken at the funeral.

On Friday, Heather and I attended the funeral of a woman we knew. Or perhaps I should say, didn't know. 

By the time we'd met her and her husband, she was well entrenched in Alzheimer's disease, and her husband was completely deaf, which made conversation very difficult. 

We first met them a couple of years earlier, but even then, we'd arrived in their lives far too late to experience the real 'them'.

However, in her day, this humbly dressed, 'plain' elderly woman was a force to be reckoned with. 

Firstly, she became a doctor in an era when female doctors were very few and struggled for recognition. Of the 130 doctors who went through with her, only nine were women. Yet, she was not only a female fighter in a man's world but also the dux of her classes for most years of her training and education. 

Additionally, she was a Christian with a deep conviction about sharing the gospel of Jesus with children. Old friends we met at the funeral, who knew her well, said that besides raising her own children and working a busy medical practice, she also taught religious instruction classes in nine or ten 'local' primary schools. She loved teaching kids about Jesus. 

Our friends told us that at one school, she was praying, and a school official told her, "You can't do that in here." So she went out into the schoolyard and re-commenced praying there. The official came out and told her that she couldn't pray in the yard either. What did she do? She wasn't going to put up with that nonsense, so she walked outside the gate onto the public footpath and continued praying for the kids and the school. There was nothing further the official could do. 

A few days before the funeral, her son came up to me and asked a flippant question with a wry grin, "You don't know anyone who wants four cubic metres of religious instructions material, do you?  He had begun cleaning out the house and shed.

The cream on the cake was when she entered and completed two MMP 415's—Massive Murray Paddle, an amazing 5-day / 415km paddling adventure race down the Murray River.   

I'm not sure about you, but I find myself enriched when I attend funerals. Some people create such bountiful histories that make you rethink what you're doing with your life. I found this woman's funeral exactly like that. Despite having several sisters, she kept her life simple and obedient to the Lord's call. 

While some Christians strive for money and prestige, wanting to be known as 'someone' in their circles, this woman seemed to have chosen the exact opposite—a way of simplicity and humility that we might easily have seen Jesus taking.     

Prayer

Precious Lord, thank you for the privilege of knowing this woman twice. The first time in the midst of her memory dilemma and the second time discovering her history. Praise you for the people You use for different jobs. The revelations keep unfolding.