Esther Boyd - 3/20/18

We have gathered today to celebrate the life and legacy of Esther Boyd. We also meet to comfort each other in our time of loss.

We turn first to the Word of God to gain perspective on this day.

In Isaiah 26:19 we read,

But those who die in the Lord will live;

their bodies will rise again!

Those who sleep in the earth

will rise up and sing for joy!

For your life-giving light will fall like dew

on your people in the place of the dead!

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“Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. 2There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? 3When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. (John 14:1–3).

Our hope and our confidence today is: this life is not the end of the story. We do not need to despair or be discouraged. Though we grieve, we do not grieve without hope.

Let’s pray together,

Father, we come to you this morning seeking the comfort that you alone can give. We are grateful for the blessing we have received through Esther’s life. Now we ask that you help us to remember the blessing even as we mourn her loss. Stir up in us the confidence that comes from the Resurrection of Jesus. In who’s name we pray. Amen.

Esther I. Boyd, was born on December 26, 1926 in Blandinsville, IL, the daughter of Clarence and Bertha MaHarry Miller. She was from a big family: with eight sisters and two brothers. She graduated from Blandinsville High School.

She met Glen Boyd after he returned from the service in 1946. Glen and Esther were both on a boat trip in June of 1946 that was followed by a dance. Glen noticed Esther, they danced, and they were married in a double ceremony with the Bice’s on January 5, 1947 in Macomb, IL. They wanted to be married on January 1st but the blood test results were delayed and they had to wait a few days. There was a snowstorm the night before and Glen ended up stuck trying to get out of LaCrosse. He secured a tractor to pull him out and he “made it to the church” (Macomb Christian Church) “on time.” The marriage seemed to have worked. Glen and Esther were married for over 71 years. They went on a Caribbean Cruise for the 50th anniversary. Esther told me recently that she was as in love with Glen today as she was when she first fell in love with him.

Glen farmed in LaCrosse . . . Esther did not! Esther loved to garden but did not want to do chores on the farm. The story is told that she tried to help with the pigs one day. One pig was giving Esther a hard time so Glen told her to hit the pig with a board. She picked up the board and did as she was told . . . unfortunately, the board had a nail in it which killed the pig. That was the end for Esther!

Glen said Esther could not cook at all when they were married. She learned from her mother and was a good student. She turned into a good cook who loved to entertain. She always looked forward to times when she could get out the good china and make the table look especially nice.

Three children were born to the Boyd’s: Mike, Lana, and Jan. Esther was a good mom. She took care of the kids, made their clothes, cooked their meals, worked in the garden, all while also caring for some of the older ladies in the LaCrosse area. The kids remember harvesting apples for apple-butter.

Esther was very talented. She had an eye for spotting value at flea markets. She loved antiques, seemed to live for mushrooming, she refinished furniture, learned to cane chairs, and was gifted in the area of crafts. When she was in Florida she loved taking craft classes. She loved flowers and watching the birds. She had an eye for beauty and could take things we would overlook and turn them into decorative works of art. She loved to go to auctions, flea markets and yard sales and finding treasures or things she could see becoming treasures when she was finished with it.

Glen and Esther started going to Florida just for a brief visit in the winter. When the Towlers moved down there for the winter they decided they would do the same. They loved their Florida wintering. Before they left, the family would gather at the Thanksgiving/Christmas gathering. Esther had the house decorated for Christmas and they would all open their gifts after their Thanksgiving meal. While in Florida Esther enjoyed collecting sea shells. At one time she had a non-working chest freezer completely filled with shells that were sorted into bags. She eventually started giving them away. Most of the years they drove to Florida. In the last years when it was harder for Esther to travel, they flew. They made good friends in Florida and did not miss the Midwest winters at all!

Esther loved having the family at the house. She enjoyed the Easter celebrations and really got in to Halloween. She decorated elaborately with a scary back porch complete with the scary music! Many of the Grandchildren love Halloween because Esther made it so much fun.

She was a social person. She never met a stranger. She could visit with anyone and enjoy it greatly. She enjoyed drinking coffee with friends, sitting on the back porch, taking walks or going for dinner. She enjoyed watching Westerns, Soap Operas, American Idol and Survivor. At the same time, when she didn’t want to do something she would tell you, “she preferred to keep her feet on the terra firma!” Everybody always knew when she enjoyed something that someone made for a special occasion.

Esther and Bev Anderson went mushrooming together for 20 years. They would head to the timber at 6:00 a.m., pack a lunch and be gone all day. One time they went on the city grounds west of her house. They filled two grocery bags full of mushrooms, returned home for additional bags and then filled those bags! They harvested 50 pounds of mushrooms that were all under one tree! (For those of you who are now wondering where that tree was. . . you can stop drooling. The next year, there wasn’t a single mushroom under that tree.)

Once (picture this) Bev and Esther had to climb a tree in a hurry to escape a bull! On another occasion they were out picking raspberries and blackberries and ran into a coyote with her babies and had to sprint to the car. Once they were out in the timber and found a pair of crutches! Another time they went rock hunting in a creek that used to be a Christmas Tree farm in Colchester. They filled their bags with their treasures and then found they were too heavy to carry up the hill. They had to dump them back in the creek! Esther had that great cackle of a laugh and I can almost hear it thinking about these times.

Bev and Esther used to enjoy going out to lunch. Sometimes it would be in town and at other times they would travel. On other occasions they would take a lunch and go sit out at the cemetery. When Esther ate something she really enjoyed she would say, “That was delicious!” Bev reported that every time that ate at a certain restaurant in Carthage they had to make a beeline for the courthouse because they had diarrhea! (Now, I don’t know about you, but this story does raise some questions: Was the bathroom full at the restaurant? And how many times do you have go to a restaurant before you decide you are tired of having to go after you have been to the restaurant?)

Esther always drove a pick-up truck. No one knows why . . . she just preferred to drive the truck.

Esther was never as enthusiastic about flying as Glen was. She would get in the plane with him for a fly-in somewhere, but she was nervous the whole time. Yet, she loved her man! He loved her in return.

Esther was blessed with eight grandchildren and eighteen great-grandchildren. She loved spending time with the kids. She would often say to them, “Come visit Granny!” She loved seeing her family! When she had time she liked to do things with the kids. Not long ago she was playing “Go Fish” with Bridgette but it got kind of frustrating for both of them because Esther couldn’t hear her. Bridgette would ask if Granny had any 4’s and Esther would answer, “No, I don’t have any 5’s!”

Esther was involved in the church. She was active in the Kum-Join-Us class and liked to cook for dinners. She regularly attended Sunday School. She was a student of the Scriptures. She read her Bible daily and even when she couldn’t get to church, Glen made sure to bring a copy of the sermon for her to read. Glen says he always turned to Esther first for answers to his Bible questions. Usually she would know the answer or could find it. She was a woman of faith.

Esther Boyd was a woman who was classy without being pretentious; fun without being frivolous; adventurous without being reckless; faithful without being self-righteous. She was just a special person. I always looked forward to seeing Esther. She treated me like one of her kids or grandkids . . . she always gave me a hug and then a kiss on the cheek. I will always treasure her kindness.

Clare de lune

Esther Boyd was a faithful woman. She was faithful to her husband. She loved Glen and thanked God for him. She told me she did not know what she would have done without him.

Esther Boyd was faithful to her family. She might tell you: “You made your bed now lie in it!” because she believed people should live with the consequences of their choices, BUT . . . she never wavered in her love for her family. No matter what . . . she continued to love you.

Esther was faithful to the Lord in good times and hard times. She had her share of physical struggles. She had her falls, breaks, and allergies to medicines (which complicated everything). We will never know just how much she hurt with her back. Yet in all of these times she maintained her faith in the Lord.

She could truly say with Paul,

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. 8And now the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing. (2 Timothy 4:7-8)

The Bible tells us there is life beyond this life. It is not wishful thinking or something we believe to make ourselves feel better. This belief is anchored to the death and Resurrection of Jesus. There are some who call that a myth, but the resurrection is anchored to hundreds of eyewitness testimonies, an empty tomb, abundant and early manuscript evidence, and countless lives that were changed by their encounters with the risen Christ. I believe, anyone who honestly examines the evidence for the resurrection will conclude this is no myth. Such people may not choose to embrace Christ but it won’t be because of the evidence!

I don’t know if Esther ever studied the historical validity of the resurrection, but I do know that she was sure of what would happen to her after she died. She was ready because she knew where she was going. One person said it this way: “Heaven is a prepared place for prepared people.” Esther was a prepared person and now there is a place that has been prepared for her.

The Bible is crystal clear, not everyone goes to Heaven; the Biblical testimony is that every one of us is a sinful person.None of us can ever earn Heaven. Though Esther was a good woman, she knew she was not “good enough.”

The starting point of faith is understanding that we are ALL broken people. We have all made mistakes (sometimes whoppers) and not a one of us has lived a “good enough” life to earn Heaven. As soon as we realize this, we no longer need to pretend we are something that we are not. Jesus knew who we were before He ever died for us.

Esther was a good woman, but she knew that her hope of eternal life did not rest in her goodness. Her confidence was in what Jesus had done for her.The Bible explains that Jesus came into the world to teach us about God and to give His life as a payment for our sin.Through His sacrifice as “God in the flesh”, WE are can be forgiven. When Christ rose from the dead He promised that anyone who would trust Him for their salvation, anyone who would follow Him, would be given eternal life.

Esther trusted Christ in this way. She was a student of the Bible.She worked hard at her faith, but did so, not to earn God’s grace, but as a response to God’s grace.

In the book of Revelation, we read,

13And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this down: Blessed are those who die in the Lord from now on. Yes, says the Spirit, they are blessed indeed, for they will rest from their hard work; for their good deeds follow them!” (Revelation 14:13)

Someone we love has left us, but this is not a tragedy, it is a victory! Esther is now where she longed to be. She was ready. She has been welcomed into the arms of her Lord. She is free from pain and more alive than she ever dreamed possible. I believe she will be reunited with her siblings, her parents, and the many friends that have gone ahead of her. For us, this is a sad day; for her, this is the best of days.

Our job today is threefold.First, we must run to the Lord for comfort and strength.He alone is our comfort in the time of loss.He gives us hope and He gives us the perspective we need.

Second, we should pause and make our own faith sure.This is the time to examine your heart and determine whether you are putting your confidence in your perceived goodness or in the sacrifice and transforming power of Jesus. Use this opportunity to do a personal inventory of your own heart.I believe Esther would want me to tell you to make sure you are headed for Heaven. She would want you to be with her.

Finally, I encourage you to remember.Remember God’s promises but also remember Esther.She was a woman who lived right up to the time she died and we must not forget that. She gave us an example. She invested in our lives. It is not up to us to make sure that investment brings a really good return.

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As we conclude let me share a few of the things we could learn from Esther,

Beauty can be found in almost anything; you just need to have the eye to see it.

It IS possible to find someone to love for a lifetime.

The wise person looks for wild animals BEFORE they look for mushrooms!

You should always take the time to visit your Granny.

The Word of God is at its best when it is studied every day and applied in the way you live.

Children and Grandchildren truly are a gift from the Lord.

There is nothing quite as healing as a good laugh.

The second time a restaurant makes you sick should probably be your last time.

You will never go wrong showing love to others. Most people are starving for it.

A lot of good things can take place over a simple cup of coffee.

And if you live well, your family will not only be sad at your funeral, they will also want to follow your example in their living.

Let’s pray,

Our Father, we thank you for the life of Esther Boyd.Each of us in this place have been touched by her in some degree. We are different people because we met her, and we thank you for the change she brought to our lives.

We also thank you today for Jesus.We are grateful for His life, His ministry, His sacrifice, and His resurrection.We thank you for the new life given to all who receive Him.We thank you for the promise of eternal life in Christ.And we thank you that Esther was one who trusted you.

Help us this day.Help us to hold firm to what you have told us is true.Help us to trust you.Help us to remember.Help us to remember the laughter, the creativity, the counsel and the love that Esther gave to us.We ask this all in the name of Jesus.Amen.