Shirley Wilcox Memorial Service
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Loving. Friendly. Faithful. Helpful. Joyful.
These are a few of the words I’d use to describe Shirley. But words don’t seem enough to capture who she was. If you knew her, you’d know that there was something special about Shirley.
I was thinking back to my personal memories of her. Before church, I could be sure that she’d come up to me, grab my arm, and let me know that she had a bag of donuts for me in her car for after church.
She’d laugh at my terrible jokes, she loved to be around people, and She just had a tender heart for anyone in need.
Today we mourn losing her.
1 Everything on earth has its own time and its own season.
2 There is a time for birth and death, planting and reaping,
The bible tells us what we already know; we will all pass from this life, but when we are faced with the death of our closest loved ones it can seem unbearable.
What can we do in such difficult times?
We can remember life. Shirley lived life in a special way, and she would want you to continue to live life to the fullest each and every day. She wouldn’t want you to give up when things get hard.
Talking with Cory and Larry, they reminded me that her greatest prayer was to see them living well. Free from addiction and serving the Lord. What a blessing it must have been to see this happen. Larry’s been sober for 10 years, and Cory for 14 years.
She got to see them living life to the fullest. She never gave up on them. In fact, she never gave up on anyone! If someone was having a hard time, she wanted to help.
Just before she passed, she was in the grocery store, and saw someone in need. She gave what she could, of the little she had, to help. That’s just who she was.
54 The bodies we now have are weak and can die. But they will be changed into bodies that are eternal. Then the Scriptures will come true, “Death has lost the battle!
55 Where is its victory? Where is its sting?”
56 Sin is what gives death its sting, and the Law is the power behind sin.
57 But thank God for letting our Lord Jesus Christ give us the victory!
58 My dear friends, stand firm and don’t be shaken. Always keep busy working for the Lord. You know that everything you do for him is worthwhile.
Shirley loved the Kansas City Chiefs. In particular, she LOVED Patrick Mahomes and his family. The way she talked about them, you’d think SHE was part of his family. I think why she liked the team and Patrick so much because they were winners. She saw them fighting out on the field and never giving up.
To my knowledge, Shirley was never in a battle on football field. But, like all of us, she was in the battle called life and death. I can tell you with complete confidence, that Shirley has won the battle because she trusted in Jesus as her Lord and Savior.
No person can cheats death.
But, I have good news. We CAN defeat death.
Through Christ we can move from death to a larger life.
Death is the most common event in human history. More common than marriage, because not every-one marries. More common than child-bearing because not everyone have children.
The tragedy of death is that it was not a part of God’s original plan.
He created man to live, not to die. God is the life-giver. Everything he touches brings life.
Sin entered the arena of life through the first man. And death has been on the scene ever since.
As human beings, we try to give meaning to death. Some do it by seeking to be master of it by trying to control their destiny. Others seek immortality through the false hope of reincarnation. There are others who do it by trying to leave a legacy, a memorial of their lives, through the family, works of art, or other achievements.
But sadly, there is no cure for death.
Faced with this reality, the question arises, “Where is God in the face of death?”
God is with us when we face death. God was with Shirley when she passed.
When we think about her winning her battle, God begins to work in our hearts and lives. He reminds us that we’ve gone through difficult times in the past and we made it through. We have the hope that God will help us through death as well. He has prepared a place for us after this life.
2 There are many rooms in my Father’s house. I wouldn’t tell you this, unless it was true. I am going there to prepare a place for each of you.
Jesus told us that there is a place waiting that we call heaven.
What kind of place is heaven?
9 But it is just as the Scriptures say, “What God has planned for people who love him is more than eyes have seen or ears have heard. It has never even entered our minds!”
Death is a certainty in life, but so is heaven. We have a hope on the other side of this life. God want’s people to live forever with Him.
This is good news for us to find hope in today.
How can we be assured that one day we will enter this place called heaven? It’s actually very simple. So simple in fact that even a child could understand without doubt that they are able to enter into that wonderful place of rest.
Shirley would want me to tell you how to be saved and how you can know that you are heaven bound.
9 So you will be saved, if you honestly say, “Jesus is Lord,” and if you believe with all your heart that God raised him from death.
10 God will accept you and save you, if you truly believe this and tell it to others.
God has made a way for us to be saved if we place our faith in Jesus as our Lord and Savior. We surrender our lives to Him and our reward is eternity with the Father and our loved ones who have passed.
I know that Shirley believed in Jesus and surrendered her heart to Him. Her life proved that she trusted the Lord for salvation.
Death is intimidating. It’s difficult. It just feels wrong.
We must cling to the scripture that tells us that even though we face death, it has no victory because we have a hope and trust in Jesus. He’s made a place where we will be united with those who have gone before us.
Shirley loved soap operas. I think it’s because she liked to call Larry’s wife Danielle to compare notes. Now, I don’t know if they have TV in Heaven, but I believe there’s a day coming where Shirley will get to catch us up on what’s been going on up there. We will see her again.
The last thing I will leave you with are lessons that Cory and Larry have learned from their mother.
Respect other people.
Be there for the people you love.
Read your Bible or Listen to Bott Radio - whatever is easier.
Don’t ever give up on people. God can bring them around in His time.
Above everything else in life - MAKE SURE YOU GO OUT TO EAT LUNCH AFTER CHURCH!
Shirley Wilcox was a special woman. She will be missed.
But we take joy in the fact that when she passed from this life to the next she heard the voice of our Lord and Savior speaking to her:
“Well done, good and faithful servant.”