Robbin’s Service

Scripture Readings

New Revised Standard Version: Updated Edition Psalm 98

1 O sing to the LORD a new song,

for he has done marvelous things.

His right hand and his holy arm

have gotten him victory.

2 The LORD has made known his victory;

he has revealed his vindication in the sight of the nations.

3 He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness

to the house of Israel.

All the ends of the earth have seen

the victory of our God.

4 Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth;

break forth into joyous song and sing praises.

5 Sing praises to the LORD with the lyre,

with the lyre and the sound of melody.

6 With trumpets and the sound of the horn

make a joyful noise before the King, the LORD.

7 Let the sea roar and all that fills it,

the world and those who live in it.

8 Let the floods clap their hands;

let the hills sing together for joy

9 at the presence of the LORD, for he is coming

to judge the earth.

He will judge the world with righteousness

and the peoples with equity.

New Revised Standard Version: Updated Edition John 14

14 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. 4 And you know the way to the place where I am going.”

What Can You Say About Robbin?

I thought long and hard about this the last few days.

I imagine if they’d let us we could stay here for weeks on end and talk about what a magnificent saint, what a wonderful mother, a beautiful bride, and a fantastic friend that Robbin was to all of us.

But I’m told we don’t have weeks and weeks on end, so I thought I’d distill things down to the essentials.

Robbin was a source of joy

I think part of the reason I’m a pastor is because I couldn’t make it as a stand up comedian.

I love people who have unique laughs.

Ever since I got the news Wednesday, I can’t get Robbin’s laugh out of my head.

I have spent time with Robbin at cookouts and church fellowship events…and the laugh was there.

I have spent time with Robbin at board meetings and business stuff that would bore the normal human to tears…and the laugh was there.

I have spent time with Robbin as we really struggled through some challenging questions of life and faith, and the laugh was there too.

I think the laugh was ever present, because for Robbin this idea of Joy was ever present.

Joy is not the same thing as happiness. Those two are rather different.

Happiness can be fleeting, here today gone the next.

Robbin knew what it was like as the Psalmist says to make a joyful noise to the Lord where the sun was shining, or the rain was pouring, or the snow was flying.

No matter what external stimuli were going on, Robbin carried that joy with her.

In fact, it’s been said a few thousand times this last week that we were given strict instructions by Robbin to not carry around our sadness today, but to live in to joy. To celebrate a life very well lived.

It’s like she knew what Jesus meant when he said “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” in our passage today.

More on that later…

Robbin knew Joy on a deep level.

I hope we’ll all carry that laugh in our hearts for years to come too.

Robbin cared so passionately and deeply for her family

I’ve been around a little while in this ministry thing, and I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a family as tight as this one.

Robbin fought passionately for her girls, TJ and Charlene.

She was madly in love with Mike.

She cared so very deeply for Micheal and Faith, and had been delighted to welcome Matt into the fold as well.

No one could come between Robbin and her family.

There wasn’t anything she wouldn’t do for her own tribe.

There wasn’t any need that would go unfulfilled.

There wasn’t any cause that she wouldn’t advocate for.

And she taught everyone in her family to do the same.

But here too is the trick…

Yesterday I was here for the viewing and someone put it so perfectly, Robbin loved her family…and everyone was her family.

To know Robbin even a little bit is to be welcomed in to the fold.

It was to be cared for and looked after.

It was to have an advocate in your corner.

She loved deeply, every single soul that came her way.

She loved her family, and everyone was her family.

I have a sinking suspicion I know why that is true for her.

Robbin was deeply in love with Jesus.

I’ll never forget what frustrated Robbin most when she started to have breathing troubles a few years ago.

It wasn’t carrying the oxygen tank around (we even thought about putting googly eyes on that).

It wasn’t the pain or the difficulty.

Those things were troubling yes, but the thing that bothered her most, at least when I had the chance to talk with her, was that she couldn’t be at church.

Robbin was Presbyterian, so a few obvious things were true.

For starters, I knew exactly which pew to look to in order to find Robbin.

In fact, that tended to be the pew where most of the laughter came from…whether I was telling jokes or they were laughing at me…

And I knew that was her pew because it was right under the painting of Jesus.

Lord help you if you try to move that painting…

She loved that church, she loved that spot, and I’m quite sure that she loved both of those things because she knew there was a connection with her Lord there.

While Jesus is always with us, she told me once, I just feel him a bit stronger here.

She knew the way to to the place where Jesus is going.

How glorious now that she doesn’t have to settle for the painting any more.

One of those many rooms that Jesus has gone on to prepare is surely for Robbin, and she’s resting there right now.

She’s being looked after and cared for by the father, the same way that she cared for all of us while she was here.

And, believe me friends, I’m certain of it, she’s making Jesus laugh even as we speak.

Jesus didn’t just go to prepare that room for Robbin.

He’s gone to prepare a room for all of us too.

And so this is not goodbye.

It’s merely I’ll see you later.

We’ll be reunited with our dear sister in Christ one day.

I hope you’re ready to laugh too.

Three Gifts for Us

But of course, it can be hard to laugh on a day like today.

Sorry is real, and grief is not only allowed, it’s to be expected.

And so for those of us here, I believe strongly that God has given us each a few gifts, a few blessings, to get through these difficult moments.

We have the gift of our stories.

I’m guessing that there are more than a few stories in this room, and even more living with the friends who couldn’t make it today.

Some of which a pastor probably shouldn’t tell in a worship service…

But that’s ok.

Our stories are a gift.

One best shared with each other!

That’s where there are always tons of pictures here when we do funerals.

The pictures themselves are nice.

But the stories those pictures tell are so much deeper.

Stories of family vacations.

Stories from major milestones in life.

Stories from the club.

Stories from a random Saturday in August.

Whatever stories you are holding on to, those are a tremendous gift from God.

Don’t keep them to yourselves.

They’re best when they’re shared with others.

I encourage you, find a friend or two this afternoon, this week, this month.

Get together and just share stories you have about Robbin.

We have the gift of each other. A family.

Robbin loved her family, and everyone was family.

Take a quick look around the room.

Every single person here is someone who has been touched by Robbin’s life and legacy.

Every single person here is someone who feels the same grief at her passing.

Every single person here shares in common a love for this dear sister in Christ.

We have each other.

And I think Robbin would want us to lean on each other in times like this.

Again, share stories together.

Cry together.

Laugh together.

Mourn together.

Pray together.

We have the gift of Jesus Christ.

Robbin knew the way to the place where Jesus was going.

And that same Jesus that worked peace in Robbin’s life is working peace in each of ours.

That same Jesus that was such a source of comfort for Robbin can be a source of comfort for us as well.

That same Jesus that holds Robbin right now is holding us in our grief.

That same Jesus that has prepared a room for Robbin has prepared a room for each of us.

And so my friends, don’t let your hearts be troubled.

We will see our sister Robbin again in the Kingdom to Come.

And we will for sure hear that laugh again.