Almighty God, our heavenly Father, we give you thanks for the life of Virginia Vandevier, your daughter and our treasured loved one.
Our hearts are saddened at her passing because her presence brought us such delight. We miss her already more than we can easily say.
But we also rejoice in the knowledge that you love her even more than we do. We know that you have delivered her from affliction, that you have taken her more deeply into your care, and that by your grace we too may one day join her in your presence.
We remember the words of the Psalm, “As a father shows compassion for his children, so the Lord shows compassion for those that fear him, for he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.” Even so, we ask you, dear Lord, to show your compassion for Grandma by keeping her extra close to you until that day, at the end of time, when you make all things new.
We also ask you to show your compassion for us. Heal our hurts. We really do ache with the loss of her whom we loved so much. We need your love so that we can live well without her in the days ahead. Strengthen our faith, too, for we need assurance that you haven’t forgotten us, reminders that you care for us, and patience that you will perfect the good work you’ve begun in each of us. And don’t forget to give us hope, not weak optimism that blithely thinks everything will somehow be all right, but real hope, that “certain expectation of a future glory” that Grandma now sees more clearly than we do.
As our first word is one of gratitude, so also let it be our last. We thank you, God, for the privilege of lives made possible and immeasurably enriched by the life of Virginia Vandevier. In what wonderful, unbelievably good places the boundary lines have fallen for us! Thank you for giving us such a goodly heritage full of blessing. May our gratitude and devotion to you grow more and more as you bless us, protect us, and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.
