He Who Created You

Israel’s only Savior

(NRSV)

Restoration and Protection Promised

43 But now thus says the Lord,

he who created you, O Jacob,

he who formed you, O Israel:

Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;

I have called you by name, you are mine.

For He has called you by name, doesn’t that give you a sense of safety? We can also stand on the Word of the Lord because as we read about the Exodus, or crossing the Jordan River, that He was with us. We are witnesses to such great miracles.

As I read the obituary of Helen Rosemary Murphy I am encouraged because I see more than just a life that has passed but a life lived to it’s fullest.

I see the life of someone fearlessly going after the things she wanted most in this life. Jesus calls us to such a life and Rosemary grabbed that life with both hands.

When we read the scriptures we can see evidence to the fact that God delivers His people from the dangers of life; not that they avoided danger or hard times but that with God in our midst all things are possible.

God delivered his people to the promised land, from the hands of Pharaoh, and from all things we can imagine in this life. Rosemary achieved greatness in her lifetime, and for these things our community is proud to have had her as a part of our history, but history does not always appreciate the journey. We can read about the Exodus with amazement but we cannot truly appreciate what they went through.

Rosemary was a brave and committed soul seeking things in this life that many can only admire from a far. But today we sit here acknowledging those accomplishments and yet look beyond her glamor and fame to see a woman known by God, her creator. May she travel from this life to the next gracefully.