Tina Clark - Angels
14 Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation? Hebrews 1:14 (NIV)[1]
How do we say “good-bye” to a girl like Tina Clark? Where do we look to find words to try to tell you, Gary, Barb, Lee, that we love you and your loss is felt in our hearts today.
We bury the powerful or the famous with great fanfare and media attention and this is totally understandable and appropriate. People who influence the world in a broader fashion, in a more public way receive the same kind of attention in their death as they do in their life. It is strange to me though that the passing of certain others leaves me with a greater sense of loss. I don’t have a depth of pain or anguish today that the Clark family would have. That would be impossible. I have watched the waves of grief break over you in the last days and wish that I could somehow settle those seas. But it is in itself a tribute of love to the daughter that you have lost and a God given way for the soul to express itself in a physical language.
My loss though not nearly so severe is personally significant to me. I share it with you today because I believe that it is important for you to know that other people loved your daughter as well. I share it with you because I think it is important to know that Tina, confined as she was, reached out to touch the hearts of others who will remember her also. I share this with you today so that you will remember that people who are faithful in the smaller, less noticed areas of life can make the greater difference in life than those who are perhaps more accomplished. I’d like it today if you would hear me say that I believe that Tina was a greater success than many who spend entire lifetimes absorbed in themselves.
I’d just like to share a few things that God taught me through Tina’s life. They weren’t necessarily new lessons but perhaps truths that needed someone to flesh them out for me so that I could be reminded of their practicality.
1. Life was not about Tina. Perhaps it was an extra measure of God’s that dulled her self-awareness but she was much more tuned to others than she was to herself. If Tina had been tuned to her own station she would have died long before she did. A few years ago I ran a marathon – across the Peace Bridge from Buffalo NY, along the Niagara river for 16 miles and we finished in front of the Falls. It was my first marathon. I was running with seasoned veterans. We went out for 18 miles at an 8 minute pace – dead on. I was feeling great. As I began to listen to the guys that I was running with, they began to speak of their own aches and pains. I remember thinking that if they were hurting as veterans then I must have an ache or two as well. As I focused on myself I found one. Then two. Then more. I stopped at a water station to fully grab a drink of water. When I started running again I had pain from the bottom of my feet to the top of my head. I had hit the wall and all because I began to over-think and dwell on myself.
Whether it was natural or God, Tina knew better than to allow herself to look within. I never remember one time hearing her complain about her illness. Trips to the hospital for treatments were merely opportunities to meet more people to add to her list. She was proud of the people that she knew and the people that she touched.
2. She never kept records. I don’t think that she looked for anyone to give her cards. She didn’t give to get. If we measure life and relationships by what comes back to us then we will cease to give. It’s a sure-fire recipe for disappointment. People become bitter when they feel that they are not getting what they deserve. I remember visiting her one day and she was doing a bunch of cards up for something. I asked her how many cards she had in the pile and she told me 30 or 40. I asked her if I could count them and I began. I counted 110 cards in her pile. She had absolutely no idea how much good she was doing. I think as a general rule, we accomplish more good when we are not keeping track of it. I think that God delights in using our lives more in the ways that we are generally unaware. In my own life, God has used the common things in uncommon ways. Even as a preacher this is true. It’s not the sermons that I have preached from the pulpit that have produced the greatest return but the sermons that I have preached in my living, the things that people have noticed when I haven’t tried to make an impression. He has used me most greatly when I have been unaware of the fact.
3. Everyone can do something to advance the kingdom of God. We talk a lot these days about a person’s potential. In some people we see greater potential than we do in others. That’s an evaluation based on what we are able to discern. God however sees things that we miss. He sees what is usable in us and he sees what is not. Pride will spoil any talent and make it unusable. Offering what we can to God is what he asks each of us to do. Did you ever have Tina do a picture for you? I have several originals. There’s a difference between saying look at what I have done and look at what I have done for you.
THE HANDWRITING ON THE WALL
A weary mother returned from the store,
Lugging groceries through the kitchen door.
Awaiting her arrival was her eight-year-old son,
Anxious to relate what his younger brother had done.
"While I was out playing and Dad was on a call,
T.J. took his crayons and wrote on the wall!
It's on the new paper you just hung in the den.
I told him you'd be mad at having to do it again."
She let out a moan and furrowed her brow,
"Where is your little brother right now?"
She emptied her arms and with a purposeful stride,
She marched to his closet where he had gone to hide.
She called his full name as she entered his room.
He trembled with fear - he knew that meant doom!
For the next ten minutes, she ranted and raved
About the expensive wallpaper and how she had saved.
Lamenting all the work it would take to repair,
She condemned his actions and total lack of care.
The more she scolded, the madder she got,
Then stomped from his room, totally distraught!
She headed for the den to confirm her fears.
When she saw the wall, her eyes flooded with tears.
The message she read pierced her soul with a dart.
It said, "I love Mommy," surrounded by a heart.
Well, the wallpaper remained, just as she found it,
With an empty picture frame hung to surround it.
A reminder to her, and indeed to all,
Take time to read the handwriting on the wall
Unknown
I remember another run a few years ago along the muddy Petitcodiac. There had been “artistes” there and they had proudly displayed their outdoor art. I have seen accidental piles of junk in a dump that looked better than what I saw there that had been deliberately thrown together. I would have been fined for allowing such things to accumulate in my yard. But there it was on display, sanctioned by the city. Call me uncultured – I don’t care. Call me a redneck – I don’t care. I could never appreciate that proud display.
We are somewhat like that by times. The Bible says:
6 All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away. [2] Isaiah 64:6 (NIV)
Tina was not a great artist but her offering was beautiful. It was never “look at what I have done”. It was always “look at what I have done – for you”
“Little is much.”
It was always a “love offering” and it was therefore, exquisitely beautiful.
The Bible says that “angels” are ministering servants. They are people whose existence and meaning comes from serving others. She may not have been created as an angel but Tina lived in an angelic manner. She was a “card angel” if you will. I found this the other day. It just asks the question, “What do angels look like?”
What do angels look like
Like the little old lady who returned your wallet yesterday.
Like the taxi driver who told you that your eyes light up the world, when you smile.
Like the small child who showed you the wonder in simple things.
Like the poor man who offered to share his lunch with you.
Like the rich man who showed you that it really is all possible, if only you believe.
Like the stranger who just happened to come along, when you had lost your way.
Like the friend who touched your heart, when you didn't think you had one to touch.
Angels come in all sizes and shapes, all ages and skin types.
Some with freckles, some with dimples, some with wrinkles, some without.
They come disguised as friends, enemies, teachers, students, lovers and fools.
They don't take life too seriously, they travel light.
They leave no forwarding address, they ask nothing in return.
They wear sneakers with gossamer wings, they get a deal on dry cleaning.
They are hard to find when your eyes are closed,
But they are everywhere you look, when you choose to see.
Isaac Watts wrote the following:
Hush! my dear; lie still and slumber;
Holy angels guard thy bed.
Heavenly blessings without number
Gently falling on thy head.
In the harvest field now ripened
There’s a work for all to do;
Hark! the voice of God is calling
To the harvest calling you.
Little is much when God is in it!
Labor not for wealth or fame.
There’s a crown—and you can win it,
If you go in Jesus’ Name.
Does the place you’re called to labor
Seem too small and little known?
It is great if God is in it,
And He’ll not forget His own.
Are you laid aside from service,
Body worn from toil and care?
You can still be in the battle,
In the sacred place of prayer.
When the conflict here is ended
And our race on earth is run,
He will say, if we are faithful,
“Welcome home, My child—well done!”
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[1] The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
[2] The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.