Queta's Final Lap

Welcome & Prayer

Good morning everyone. On behalf and of the Bleuer Family, we want to welcome you as we celebrate the life and honor the legacy of Henrietta “Queta” Bleuer.

My name is Josh and my wife Joanna and I had the honor to serve our dear Sis. Queta as her Pastors for the last years of her life.

Before we begin our services, a you please stand with me as we pray and invite the presence of the Lord to come and fill this place today.

Introduction

I’ve been asked by the family to share some words of comfort today, and before I do, I want to begin by offer our sincerest condolences to JoAnn, Debbie, Diana, Lorraine and Robert, on behalf of our entire congregation. Queta will be missed, and there will be a void that will be hard to replace where she sat. On the edge of the last row closest to the stairs. On March 24, 2019, my wife and I, alongside a team, started a church in San Marcos, CA. It was our big Launch Day as they call it, and my Mom pulled me aside from the hustle of the morning. She said to me, “Josh, you need to meet someone.” To which I said, “No problem, who am I meeting?” And my Mom said, “There is a lady here who thinks that she’s too old to be part of this church.” And that lady was our dear Sister Queta.

I have to be honest with you all here and tell you all that I did not expect to be presiding over her service. I believed that the honor would belong to someone who knew her or Pastored her longer than I did. Many of you knew her much longer than we did. And if that is the case, I consider you to be blessed to have known her as long as you have,

You see, Sis. Queta joined our church that day, and over time she let me know that this was now the fourth church launch that she had been a part of. And I suspected that in the passing of time, that this would also be the last one that she would be a part of.

So for the next few minutes I want to share a message with you that I am calling, Queta’s Final Lap.

Scripture

2 Timothy 4:6–8 NIV

For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

This passage of scripture was authored by the Apostle Paul, who used the last of his days to continue to pour into his young disciple Timothy. Paul sensed that his death was near and he used his last days to encourage and build up Timothy. There was no fear in Paul’s words, just the confidence of what awaited him.

I felt this same assurance and confidence on the last day that we saw Queta.

On October 29, Queta came to church as she consistently did, and so matter of factly told Joanna and I that she was going to be going home soon. As she said this I looked at her daughter who told us that she was telling everyone this…

Joanna and I tried to stop her and told her not to say that, and that there was more life in her, but she just so matter of factly said that the Lord had spoken to her.

She then went on to tell us about the relief that she had. That her affairs were in order. Her money was buttoned up. And I sensed then, to just give her a hug, thank her for everything she had done for the church, and to tell her how honored we were to be there for her as her Pastors for the short period of time that she was with us.

Her Final Lap...

What I learned from watching Queta in her final lap:

Sundays Mattered

Sundays mattered to Queta. She never stopped prioritizing coming to church on Sunday.

I looked back on a text from her son Robert, and on December 12, 2022, she was on oxygen. She was recovering from pneumonia. She had every reason to stay home and watch online. But as soon as she was able to, she came to church with her oxygen tank.

I remember the Sunday when she came in without her tank. She was so happy that God had given her lungs the strength to breathe on her own once again. Through it all, she never stopped coming to church.

When Robert told me that she was now in hospice care, to my surprise, two weeks later Queta came to church. I was confused… I’ve never met a person who was in hospice care, and they still came to church.

What a faithful witness to us, who so often regard Sunday as just another day of the week.

When given plenty of reasons to stay home, she came.

A Life of Generosity

Finally, another observation from Queta’s final lap, was her diligence in giving to the church. Every month, she wanted to make sure that her two checks were received and accounted for. She was so faithful in her giving. She was so consistent.

As the world came to halt in 2020 due to the pandemic, our church was not even a year old and we had so much uncertainty. We were uncertain if our church would make it. We weren’t sure if people would still give to the church. Would people stay with us when we couldn’t meet in person.

Then one day in April, I went to our mailbox and there inside was an envelope with a hand written message from Queta. There inside were her two checks.

It was that note that served as a gentle reminder from the Lord that we were going to be OK. God used Queta’s that day to sow seeds of trust and confidence that God was taking care of us.

Age is Just a Number...

Before Queta joined our church, our oldest member on our launch team was 42. I would jokingly call him the “Elder” of our group. And then, along came Queta. Who even though she asked if she was too old to be with us, I knew she enjoyed being a part of this group.

She never once complained about the volume, the lights, the haze, and some of the other things we were doing as a young church. She sat there with a smile and took it all in. I know that it might not have been her preference, but she looked excited to see what was happening. She never asked for older music. She didn’t ask for a different style. She would come in, have a seat and wait for people to come by and greet her.

Queta was having a good time. Queta was out of her comfort zone, and was loving it.

Lessons from her Final Lap

And so if I could take these three observations from her life, and give us all an application, here is what I would say to you all.

Put God First in Everything You Do. Don’t let anything get in the way of your relationship with God. If you’re far from him, you can come back home to him at any time. Make God your priority.

Live a Generous Life. Be generous with your resources, be generous with your time, and be generous with others. We take nothing with us to our eternal rest. And people may not remember what you said to them, but they will never forget how you made them feel. Generosity makes all the difference in the world.

Stay Young and Invest in the Next Generation. All of us are getting older, one day at a time. But to remain young is to surround yourself with others younger than you. Be curious about what the next generation, and the next generation is curious about. Be a mentor to the next generation and share what you’ve learned along the way.