Mimi Hackney MS

Introduction

Today, we are here to celebrate the life of Mimi Hackney. All of you who are here today bear tribute to her life, her love, and her legacy.

When we step into moments like these… moments where we are mourning the loss of someone we love, we go to the Scriptures. We go to the Scriptures because they are more sure than what we see with our eyes and what we feel to be true. The don’t change based upon passing seasons.

Psalm 23 ESV

A Psalm of David. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Let us pray.

Explanation

God has given us three great gifts: Faith, Hope, and Love. I want to talk about Mimi, and the way she stewarded those gifts of God.

LOVE - Mimi loved her family well.

Mimi loved her husband (Don) and her children. She was a dedicated wife and husband. She taught a few years before staying at home to raise her children.

She was incredibly involved in her children’s lives.

She was a Den mother for the Cub Scout Groups.

Mimi loved her church.

Many people in our church remember the first time they visited Versailles Baptist. They often remember Mimi, because she would sit with them, introduce them to the pastor, and help them to get connected. She was an includer. She was intuitive about the needs of others.

She was involved in the 50+ group at VBC and the chair of the ministry at certain times. She was dedicated to prayer meeting. She was involved in her Sunday School class. She was a member of the church choir. She taught 1st Grade SS. She served as the VBS director.

Mimi loved art.

Circulating around our church is this piece of artwork. It shows all of the choir members, some of whom are in here today.

She also drew this picture of Jesus guiding someone through a storm. Her artwork is all over the room.

She could write little jingles for any occasion at a moments notice.

She began the art instruction program at the high school.

Art is important to life, because art is one of those things that makes life meaningful and worthwhile. When we create, we reflect our creator, who did not have to make earth as beautiful as he did. However, due to his great love for us, he make the world with beautiful colors, animals, plants, waterfalls, and mountains. When we create, we make the world more beautiful, and we reflect a little bit of the generosity of our God towards us.

Mimi loved life.

She was witty and funny.

She traveled: Italy, Switzerland, and Hawaii.

Most of all, Mimi loved Jesus. This reality is because of Mimi’s faith.

FAITH - Mimi had faith to save her.

Her Bible was redlined. She read her Bible and prayed every morning before the day began. This gives a glimpse of her faith in Jesus. The Lord takes our gifts and abilities and he magnifies them when he saves us. Faith begets our love. It produces our love.

2 Corinthians 5:16–21 “From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

Mimi was a sinner in need of grace. She trusted in Jesus, and God saved her.

Jesus took the punishment that we deserved, and He gave us His, perfect spotless righteous so that when God looks at us he sees the righteousness of His beloved Son.

From the moment that we have faith in Jesus, we become the righteousness of God. And that doesn’t change on the good or bad days, because our righteousness is not based upon what we do or do not do, because the merit of our righteousness is found in the merit of Christ - who is forever and infinitely perfect, holy, and righteous.

Mimi, as a result, will spend an eternity with Jesus. Today, Mimi is just fine.

HOPE - Mimi’s hope is the same hope as us.

What do we do with the in between? What do we do in the most difficult moments?

Revelation 21:1–6 ESV

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment.

What do we do with our pain? We rejoice that Mimi’s is forever gone, and one day ours will be too.

Read from Every Moment Holy, p. 203. Morning of a Funeral I.

Death is a pause in the poem, but Jesus is writing the whole thing. And the ending will be better than everything that Frost, Keats, and Dickinson could imagine combined.

Invitation

We celebrate her love.

We need her faith.

We hope in her hope. Jesus Christ, and Him alone.