Rosalie Murrey Funeral Service

Doug and Julie extend their gratitude and thanks for the out pouring of love they have received from family, friends, educators and health care providers of Rosalie

Gathering to remember and commemorate the life of Rosalie Murrey

Remembrance

The act of ‘Remembering’ in the Judaeo-Christian belief and throughout scripture is a powerful word.

It is not a simple mental exercise to recall certain events, dates, details or persons.

There was an action that took place in the process of remembering.

When something or someone was remembered, it was done so with the intention of influencing life.

Ex. The night of the last supper Jesus looked at his disciples and said ‘do this in remembrance of me’

ex. When Jesus Christ was crucified, the thief on the right said remember me when you come into your kingdom....His request for remembrance was tied to an action

So as we remember our beloved Rosalie, let us do so in away that evokes us to live differently, to see differently and to love differently!

This sort of remembrance is yet another way life is victorious over death.

Remembering the life of Rosalie

Opening with the reading of psalms

Psalm 116:1–9 NASB95

1 I love the Lord, because He hears My voice and my supplications. 2 Because He has inclined His ear to me, Therefore I shall call upon Him as long as I live. 3 The cords of death encompassed me And the terrors of Sheol came upon me; I found distress and sorrow. 4 Then I called upon the name of the Lord: “O Lord, I beseech You, save my life!” 5 Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; Yes, our God is compassionate. 6 The Lord preserves the simple; I was brought low, and He saved me. 7 Return to your rest, O my soul, For the Lord has dealt bountifully with you. 8 For You have rescued my soul from death, My eyes from tears, My feet from stumbling. 9 I shall walk before the Lord In the land of the living.

Reading from Mrs. Renee (Teacher) -

Nova - Kait ?

Reading from her therapists - Lisa Rahn

Reading from Doug and Julie

Hope in the life to come

John 5:24–29 NKJV

24 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. 25 Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live. 26 For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, 27 and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man. 28 Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice 29 and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.

In these verses St. John gives us all a picture of hope to hold on to while we deal with the grief and sadness of loosing Rosalie so early and so suddenly. Her loss has sent her parents, family and friends into a tailspin characterized by grief, sorrow, darkness and confusion. A nightmare, we all wish to wake up from. Amidst the sorrow and grief there are seeds of hope through faith that we must hold on to and water for out of them will come the strength for the journey that lies ahead.

Hope is found in a heavenly reunion

Amidst the despair, hope and consolation found in a spiritual reality that exists beyond the physical world we live in. Julie stated in her FB post spoke of a reunion between Rosalie and her late grandfather, Steve. It’s a beautiful picture that brings two family members back together again after parting ways. When considering the source of pain experienced here by all who loved Rosalie, it can be boiled down to a loss of union or separation. The desire to be with and experience one another can no longer be fulfilled here on earth, this is where our pain comes from. But it is not final because the sadness of separation will one day be remedied in the life that is still to come. That life is characterized by an eternal union together and with God.

This union isn’t just a theory or wishful thinking to take away the pain of loss but it is a reality made possible by the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, who was both fully God and fully human. Through his own sacrifice on the cross, he overcame the finality of death for humanity in his resurrection. He gifted humanity the opportunity to overcome death, through His grace, opening the door for us to continue living in heaven with Him and each other.

Comfort is found in this heavenly reunion, as we can now look forward to the day when we are reunited with loved ones that has passed on from this world to the next. The pain we are experiencing now is not final, it is temporary in this case and joy will one day be the eternal experience, when we live our our days faithfully.

In the book of Revelation we are giving a picture of what life up in heaven is like.

Revelation 21:4 NKJV

4 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”

The ‘former things’ are the things we experience now on earth. There is so much to hope for when we set our eyes towards God and all that he has prepared for us.

Life overcomes death through love

This hope serves as a reservoir of strength to live out the rest of our days faithfully, striving everyday to embody His life of love, empathy and kindness. It’s these very characteristics that where captured in the life of Rosalie. She was a picture of God here on earth. One of the things that make children so precious is how they show to boldly love, show kindness without partiality and care for the other with the purest of intentions. These actions penetrate deep into our hearts showing us what is really important in life.

The stories of Rosalie’s contagious smile, unwavering kindness and sincere empathy are endless. They are eternally captured in the hearts and minds of everyone who knew her and had a chanced to be loved by her. There is no purer or more innocent love than that of a child, which is why their ability to touch the lives of so many is unparalleled. What we don’t realize as adults is that while, Rosalie was just beginning her academic career, she was the one actually teaching from day one. She taught everyone through her life. Every hug and kiss she gave out, every pat on the back to all her classmates, her smile and giggles were lessons on how we should be living. They were reminders to us that very little in this world matters when compared to how you love and care for those around you. Its these lessons that will continue to live on in each of us, IF we remember Rosalie’s life the way we are supposed to.

St. Paul has a beautiful verse in his letter to Timothy who was a very young servant and leader in the church.

1 Timothy 4:12 NKJV

12 Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity.

Remembering, her in an active way, is yet another way life continues to be victorious over death. Rosalie, has not died, she has only passed on from this broken world into a perfect one. As she has passed on to a perfect world where she awaits us, she has also passed on life lessons to all of us. She continues to live because she has in her 3 and half years on this earth left a lasting impact on her parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins and friends. Rosalie challenges all of us to re-prioritize life placing value on each other and not things. She showed us how to impart kindness whenever possible as she did every circle time at school tapping each person and asking are you ‘ok’. simple, but highly effective. She worked hard at overcoming the challenges from her chromosomal abnormality, with a smile on her face.

Rosalie’s life has overcome death by both passing on to the life to come and because she loved and valued the individual in front of her pouring from her life into theirs.

Let us remember Rosalie, the right way. In a remembrance that translates into a change in our life.

Circle closing

Mrs. Renee and Mrs. Lauren

Related Media

Related Sermons