Remembering an everyday hero

It has been said that we can do no great things, only small things with great love.

At home, we diligently wash the dishes, do the laundry and clear the trash.  We ask our spouses how their day went, patiently hear our respective frustrations, and lovingly encourage each other.  We help our children with their homework, model for them love, patience and thankfulness, and play endless board games with them.  We pray together when we are burdened, worried or tired, and give thanks for big and little victories, celebrations and milestones.

At work, we faithfully check our emails, hold meetings and give and take instructions.  We make a genuine effort to hear our colleagues' and customers' needs and concerns.  We help each other to learn and get things done.  Sometimes, but not often enough, we become friends.  We cheer each other on in our achievements, lend an ear to each other's troubles, and pray for each other's needs.

Few people see us do these things.  The newspapers don't blare them out.  They are small things.  The world doesn't see and doesn't know if we do these small things with great love or not.  But today, I want to remember a good friend who did do small things with great love, and tell just a few more people so that we can celebrate that.

In the office, she was always positive, surrounded with many friends, willing to help others, and went about doing everything quietly and effectively, and then some more.  From secretarial work, she eventually went on to acquire professional Compliance qualifications and made the transition to executive Compliance work, alongside colleagues who were degree and and even masters holders.  I cannot explain how awesomely impressive that was, but those of you who are in this profession understand the degree of technical and relational competence required to do this well.

Even when she was ill, she continued to live life full of joy.  She was a loving wife, an encouraging mother.  She travelled, ate, exercised, went on outings, and spent time with everyone who mattered to her.  She sat before the Lord and enjoyed his Word.  She gave testimony of His goodness to her friends, colleagues, family and children.  One time in particular, I remember she invited some colleagues to her home and witnessed boldly and joyfully to all of them.  I remember another time, her joyfulness as she celebrated the milestone of giving her life testimony to the church congregation.

In John 5:33-35, Jesus speaks of John the Baptist and how he was a lamp that burned and gave light to be enjoyed.

"You have sent to John and he has testified to the truth.  Not that I accept human testimony; but I mention it that you may be saved.  John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you chose for a time to enjoy his light."

John the Baptist was a political and religious personality who is remembered for posterity in the Bible.  But while not all Godly heroes are recorded in the Bible, their names are recorded in the book of life that Christ will open when He comes again, to wipe every tear from our eyes, where there will be no more death, or mourning or crying or pain (Revelation 21:4).

But while we await that day, I would like to record the name of Lassie Chan here in my little blog.  While her name and her life, lived with great love, may not be in the headlines or the history books, today, I remember her here.

So to all of Lassie's many friends and family - you have sent to Lassie, and she has testified to the truth.  Not that God accepts human testimony, but we mention it that you may be saved.  Lassie was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you chose for a time to enjoy her light.  And we thank God for her.

And finally, to my brother Wayne, who is with God too - hey, would you mind showing Lassie around while we all wait to meet again?  We will have so much to talk about then!

With much love, and great anticipation of the day when every tear shall be wiped from our eyes.

Glenn

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bullying? Stand up!

Image
When I was a kid, I remember being bullied a fair bit.  I was small for my age, bespectacled, shy.    The teachers didn't help by putting a target on my back by making me Vice Head Prefect.  I would get my stuff just taken away from me by bigger kids, dragged out into the field to be tickled until I collapsed (much less fun than it sounds), and pushed into the storm drains.  Not all the kids were full-blown bullies of course.  But I remember some of them standing by, and politely holding my spectacles (so they wouldn't be broken) while the bullies did their work on me. Most of this stopped when I got to secondary school, where a much larger proportion of my fellow students were now just as nerdy!  And of course I grew up too.  I don't really look back on those days with any kind of animosity, because I think it never occurred to me that it was unusual.  But I do think my experience made me a bit more sympathetic about people around me who...
Read more

Life as a pie chart

Image
Someone told me recently about a "life exercise" in which one compiles all the stuff that makes up your life, and puts it in a pie chart.  So let's say for me, something like this. The idea is to visually demonstrate to myself that, in the event I lose one of these things, then I can see that, hey life is not so bad, that wasn't such a big deal.  Say for example, if I suffered a blown ACL, and couldn't run or play basketball any more, like this: At first blush - I'd say, hey, I still have my wife, children, parents, career, church life - so, chin up, things are not so bad.  Pretty good life visualisation tool to bring some optimism back into play! ... But what if, a month later, something happens at work, and boom, career gets sidetracked, I lose my job, or get put in cold storage somewhere, like this: Oops, now only half my life is left!  With only half of life's meaning left to me, what do I do? And what if something happens to...
Read more

Family AND Team

Image
I heard an interesting viewpoint this weekend. A family is not inherently a team. Hmm.  Sometimes at work, often in church, and most of the time at home, you hear people say to each other that we are family. And often, we really are. We care for each other above and beyond transactional matters.  It matters to me when my colleagues and cell group members (and of course my actual family members) go through illnesses or family issues or work challenges. I root for their success at presentations and projects and relationships. I care about what they care about, even if it has little direct impact on my own life. In a way, a family is sort of an amalgam of people who support each other in pursuit of each member's personal goals. For example, as a father, I support my children in their academic, career and ministry goals. But where they go to school, the grades they get, and the careers and ministries they build - they're really their goals, not mine.  Ditto for my role as a c...
Read more