Funeral: Granny Rayma

One of her favorites

I am one of Granny’s favorite grandsons.

She had 3 of them, and two granddaughters, not to mention her 8 great grand children, and all those she adopted as grandchildren over the years.

Jeffrey and I always joked with Granny on who her favorite was, because we all know Granddaddy is partial to the girls, but granny was quick to remind us that we were ALL her favorites, and we all know that is truth.

Thought she was invincible

I kind of always thought my Granny was invincible.

Part of it was she never wanted anyone to help her with anything, she was quite independent and a little hard-headed.

But she just didn’t seem to slow down much as she got older.

I used to tell her when I was little that she was not old until she was 75.

So at 75, she let me know that she was now old. But she was still going like she was 50.

But Granny knew she wasn’t invincible. She used to say “Getting old is Hell.”

And she would talk about the reality that one day “the good Lord would call me home.”

As we all struggled to imagine a world without Granny, she looked forward to the day she would meet Jesus.

One day when we were leaving the nursing home after visiting Granddaddy, she told me about a dream she had.

She told me she had a dream that she went to be with the Lord. She said it was like she was sucked out of a balloon and all of a sudden she felt perfect. She said it was the best feeling she ever had. Totally peaceful.

Then she said "I am ready. I have so much to look forward to. I don't know how people without God make it."

I told her that was a gift from God. It was a gift from God for her and for me.

I told her several times this week as she lay in that hospital bed “your dream is going to be reality soon Granny.”

Your faith will soon become a glorious reality.”

My Granny

I have been asked this week “do you think you can preach her funeral?”

My response has been “I don’t think I can NOT preach her funeral”

She told me a long time ago that she wanted me to preach her funeral, so I am not sure I had much of a choice in the matter.

I have been thinking all week what I would say about someone so important to me.

I could tell so many stories about her (and will tell them to whoever will listen).

But all of those stories, all of the memories I have I think can be summed up in 3 qualities my Granny possessed.

1) Granny was SINCERELY GENUINE.

I preached on Ephesians 4 recently and one passage that I pointed out to my church is vs 15:

Ephesians 4:15 ESV

15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,

“Speak the truth in Love” I think of my Granny when I hear this passage.

Granny wasn’t afraid to say what she felt like needed to be said.

She likely hurt some of your feelings at some point, but she didn’t do it to be mean, but because she genuinely loved you.

She rarely left things unsaid that needed to be said

She lived everyday seeking to be honest and real in the way she loved those around her.

Paul lists the qualities of a true believer in Romans 12 and the first thing he says is “Let love be genuine”

in many ways, Granny was the epitome of this verse.

I think the reason so many loved her was because around her you didn’t have to try to be someone you were not because she was not going to try to be some one she was not.

She was sincerely genuine, and that was deeply refreshing.

Granny was TRULY GENEROUS.

Paul goes on in that verse in Romans 12

Romans 12:9–13 NLT

9 Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. 10 Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. 11 Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. 12 Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. 13 When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.

Love with genuine affection

delight in honoring one another

don’t be lazy in serving the Lord and others

Rejoice with hope, patient in struggles, and constant in prayer.

Give, help, and welcome.

These are characteristics of true believers who have been and are being transformed by Jesus.

And they can easily be summed up as TRUE GENEROSITY.

And these characteristics describe my Granny to a T.

She was a great friend to so many people (we have seen that in the last week)

She was zealous in serving others and serving the Lord in so many ways over the years

She was a woman of prayer.

She told me all the time what she was praying about.

She prayer to Jesus often and had no doubt He heard her.

She spoke to Jesus like He was her friend.

She was generous in so many ways:

She was never too busy to have coffee with a friend or to answer the phone and have a quick chat.

She didn’t hesitate to make a dish or a pie or send a card to brighten someone’s day.

She welcomed others into her home without hesitation.

We looked through hundreds of pictures a couple of days ago and countless people sat around her kitchen table over the years

She gave, not just money, not just food, not just stuff, SHE GAVE HERSELF TO OTHERS.

She was TRULY GENEROUS.

3) Granny was PROFOUNDLY SIMPLE

You will not see any new paper headlines or NBC specials on the life of Rayma Mae Carter.

She will likely not make any history books or have monuments created in her honor.

BUT

For those of us who knew her, she had a PROFOUND IMPACT ON OUR LIVES.

And it was not because she was a particularly profound person

She lived in the same town all her life

She worked a simple factory job for 30 years

She had a simple house on a quiet street in small town KY.

She stayed married to the same man for 66 years

BUT

The Simplicity of her life was what made her so profound.

Granny showed us what it means to love, serve, and care for others, especially her husband.

She taught us to be honest and authentic

She taught us to never let anyone spit in your face or treat you badly.

She taught us to read the Bible, to pray to a real, loving, powerful, and loving God who cares about us.

She taught us to expect miracles, but to trust God even if the miracle didn’t come.

She taught us to speak boldly and serve humbly.

And though she might not have been profound in the eyes of the world, she made a profound impact on my life and on the lives of many, many others.

Granny came to hear me preach twice.

The first time was at Trammel Fork Baptist Church in Scottsville, KY.

And I preached on Hebrews 11 and 12 about leaving a legacy of faith.

If you are not familiar with Heb 11, it is the FAITH chapter where the writer talks about the faith of those who have gone before us. Specifically those in the OT that had faith in the coming Messiah (Jesus).

And then in chapter 12 he says:

Hebrews 12:1–2 CSB

1 Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every hindrance and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, 2 keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith. For the joy that lay before him, he endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

My Granny created quite a cloud with her life.

I told her this week as she was laying in the bed “When you get to Heaven Jesus will be there to meet you and He is going to say “Rayma Mae, you did a good job sister, welcome home.”

Grieving but not without hope

I hated to say goodbye to Granny and will miss her the rest of my life.

And though I grieve today I do not grieve without hope.

I have a deep and abiding peace knowing that the moment my Granny breathed her last breath, she was instantly in the presence of her savior.

Her Dream has now become a reality.

The perfect peace she longed for she is now experiencing fully in the presence of Jesus.

Believe and Receive

It sometimes feels like we preachers awkwardly add the Gospel into funerals at times.

But the reality is that everything I have said about my granny today is quite meaningless if she didn’t know Jesus and hadn’t given her life to him.

She was really great wife, mother, grandmother, friend and neighbor, but none of those things gave her the peace she had in death.

The peace on confidence Granny felt about dyeing came from her deep faith in Jesus.

If Granny were here right now I know she would be pleading with everyone of us to Trust in Jesus.

Now more than ever, Granny knows how great He is.

Do you know Him and have you trusted Him for salvation?

It is not too late.