When you asked God to send you an Angel...

In honor of you our dear friend whose life was cut tragically short...

We would never have met you had you not prayed a secret prayer asking God to help you, asking God to "send you an angel" (your exact words) to help you in a time of pain and loss.

And I stand here today with a sense of sobriety and the feeling of awesome responsibility, because somehow on that morning last year in June, I heard the Holy Spirit of God speak to me as you walked by with a word revealing the nature of your pain and loss. And on that morning, I took the risk and stopped you, a total stranger, to ask if the word God had revealed was in fact a word of revelation from the Lord.

I'll never forget the look of shock on your face when you revealed to me that not only was it a word from God, but that you had been asking God in your pain, "God, send me an angel to help me".

Since "angel" is a term that simply means 'messenger' and can be a human one and/or a heavenly one, God decided on that fateful morning to speak to one of his kids, namely me, to assist one of His daughters who was lost and hurting. 

I knew you would call my wife when I gave you her number because you BELIEVED ME when I told you that she could help you by ministering healing to your pain. God spoke a word concerning your life and you received it by faith. 

And then to watch your relationship with my wife grow over the next couple of months. We truly gained a sister, a new family member. 

But even more beautifully, was to watch your relationship with Jesus begin to grow as you surrendered your life to Him. Your hunger for God was infectious. 

It was such an honor to baptize you and to see you begin to grow in the gifts of the Holy Spirit. You had such a sensitivity to His voice.

And then we got to meet the joy of your life, your daughter. 

To get that fateful phone call about your death from your daughter just a few days ago was something we never expected. Having just moved back into the country, we were sure the months and years ahead would have been time to be partnering together in seeing Christ's Kingdom expand.

I am in awe by the thought that our gracious Heavenly Father wanted you to meet my wife and me. He wanted to answer the prayers of your grandmother who introduced you to Jesus when you were a child and prayed for you until the day she went to her eternal reward.

I am humbled by the thought that I could just as easily not have said anything to you that morning! I could have reasoned that what I heard wasn't from God. I could have talked myself out of taking that risk and approaching a total stranger. And what would be the case today had I not obeyed? 

God was preparing His daughter to come home. Of course, He knew the day your life would end. None of us did. 

And although we mourn the loss, we can, at the same time, rejoice in knowing that you are now in the presence of your Savior. And you are now reunited with your grandmother who one day we also can't wait to meet!

Your life was lived in such a way that you impacted everyone who knew you. Many people leave a mixed legacy, but you left a pure one. You loved people, you inspired people, and they lived differently because of your influence upon them!

Your daughter I believe has received the "mantle" (as we call it) that you had - and part of her calling going forward is to carry on your legacy. She might not know all that she has "received" just yet, but many of the works that God had foreordained for you to do, will now be for her to carry out. The Holy Spirit will reveal this to her. 

And so we don't say "goodbye", rather we say, "see you later" as that is our destiny as sons and daughters of our Heavenly King. 

I had this thought that there was a line in from the famous Elton John song, "Candle in the Wind" that is now applied to you (a song which was originally written for Marilyn Monroe and then re-written for Princess Diana who also suffered untimely deaths)

Your candle burned out long before
Your legend ever did

Thank you for asking God to send you an angel. And thank you for being an angel to your daughter, and to your family and many friends who love you and miss you.