Monday Morning Encouragement -- Tribute to Sue

 

Susan "Sue" K. Gehn

November 18, 1947 - March 16, 2025

"Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints." Psalm 116:15

Three weeks ago the world lost a sweet soul without warning; a woman of God who shined brightly, who loved deeply, and whose laugh alone could light up a dark room. A woman who at the age of ten wrote an essay about how she would like to be a missionary so that she could "tell others about God's word." Her grandmother had told her that many people had never read the Bible, and that made her sad. At such a tender age she had a sweet love for the Lord and other people, and that love never wavered. And although instead of becoming a missionary she would eventually marry my brother and go on to become a mother of three sons, she is remembered as a woman who shared her faith in God openly, believed in the power of prayer, and accepted all the tragedies in her life with grace and dignity.

Sue came into my life when she was fifteen and I was thirteen, my big brother's girlfriend who became my friend, my confidante, and one of my bridesmaids. We enjoyed long talks (many of them over the phone since for most of our lives we were separated by long distances). We laughed, we cried. We weren't simply sisters-in-law, we were sisters in Christ. When my husband passed in 2007, my brother and Sue came from Florida to Ohio to offer their comfort and support. I will forever be grateful for that. I wish I could have done the same for my brother, but I was scheduled for oral surgery in just a few days and couldn't travel. 

Since Sue's passing from earth to her eternal home, my brother and I have had several talks. He's a strong believer in Christ, and although he is grieving the loss of his wife of 63 years, he is comforted by the knowledge that she is at peace with the Lord, no longer in pain, and that one day they will be reunited. This is the blessed hope that Paul speaks of in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. We don't grieve as those who do not know Christ. We have the promises of God to encourage us and help us move through loss. What a gracious and merciful Savior we have! To Him be all the glory.

One day every one of us will face death. It is inevitable. As a Christian we can carry on with life knowing that our true home awaits. Our forever home is not here. We may call the earthly home of our dreams our "forever home", but that is an illusion, and I believe we need to think beyond pretty houses and lush gardens, and make sure we are ready to face the Lord. Make certain we have put our trust in Christ for eternal life. John 3:16 isn't just a verse displayed by certain fans at football games, it's the truth of the gospel of Christ: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son. That whosever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life."

Sue knew this and received it, my brother knows this and has received it, and I know it and have received it. I pray you have, too.

Today's music video I Am Not My Own by Keith and Kristyn Getty is a song that celebrates our relationship to Christ when we make Him our Savior. There's great freedom to live this life on earth and look forward to our eternal home when we have this settled in our heart.

I love you, I'm thinking of you, and I'm praying for you.