Today is All Hallows Day, or as we usually call it, All Saints Day. It is the day when we stop to ponder all those made saints by God through Christ. People like Abraham, Ruth, and Jacob. People like Peter, Paul, and Lydia. People like Aunt Nancy, Mr. Jones, and that dear old lady who sat three pews behind you growing up.
For there is no distinction for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.(Romans 3:23-24)
Saints should be kept in remembrance so that our faith may be strengthened when we see what grace they received and how they were sustained by faith. Moreover their good works are to be an example to us, each of us according to his own calling. (AC XXI)
So I thought it would be appropriate and edifying to add here some stories of the saints known to us that serve to strengthen our faith and and provide examples of good works we can walk in in our own callings.
I will add mine below after several of you add yours. List someone you are thinking of today and write about how they received the grace of God, were sustained by faith, or set an example of good works that applies to your life.
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Ginger Bruning – There are several in my life that have passed away that touched me dearly. I have to say that my Grandma Vada Ruth Julian was truly the best example in my life, especially in the most recent years (when I really paid attention!), she showed me how to be a more loving wife, a more forgiving woman, and a more loving Christian, showing acceptance instead of judgementalness and rejection. TRULY was one of the best examples of being a Christ-like person. I pray that I strive to become more and more like my Grandmother was…….TRULY more Christ-like. I miss you Grandma!!! Thank you Lord for such a loving Grandma!
My grandmother Twyla Richardson and my mother Helen Richardson Griggs were two women who taught me how to be a mother, a wife, and most importantly how to love. Both faced daunting circumstances beginning with the depression and on through the years as life took its toll with illness and age they met all with fortitude and strength in God through it all.
They were from two different generations but held the same values and belief in God. I learned at their knees how to can, cook, sew, garden, pray, read, and dress. When the time came to bury each, having died after my grandfather and father had passed on, I realized what treasures were lost that day. It took that day at the cemetary to know, I had buried my best friend on earth, first grandma Twyla, then my mother. Now, I am in their shoes with grandchildren of my own and wonder, will they too understand when I am being lowered into the ground?
Those that go before us, having fought the fight on this earth for their alloted time go on to victory in Christ. We look to their examples for our lives and as we get ever closer to our own mortality, know we will see them again – joyous in our reunion.
Joan Estrada: Mother, father, brother, grandparents….