Funeral Address for Michelle Nelson

16 June 2006

Bishop Paul D. Laws

 

I became acquainted with Michelle at Church when our family moved to the Pensacola area for the first time in 1994. She was beautiful inside and out and our relationship was to take on a special turn a short 2 years later.

 

I offer but a few personal observations about Michelle

1. She was extremely persistent (see hard-headed/stubborn): Those of you who have had anything to do with Michelle since the onset of her physical challenges so many years ago (and especially recently) know exactly what I mean. She was reticent to be cared for even in her extremity. She resisted the idea that Royette (or anyone else for that mater) should wait on her even when she was in extreme duress. She was a delightful waitress who many patrons would return to for service again and again. She would shelter the homeless, clothe the naked, and heal the afflicted whose hands "hung down". Countless are the number of days Michelle worked (while putting herself through school) and raising her sons Jeremy and Jim.
   
2. She had a remarkable love of children: In July of 1996 our fourth child, a girl who we named Joli, was born at Sacred Heart Hospital here in Pensacola. She was due in October and was extremely small. But like Michelle she was what some might call a "persistent soul". Her mother and I were not permitted to interact much with her due to the perils associated with her size and the policies of the hospital concerning her measly birth weight. Michelle was literally an "angel of mercy" who willingly surrendered nearly every free moment from her other duties in the hospital to nurture our "little angel". She was able to do for us and Joli what we so much wanted and desired but were prevented from doing. Many times since I have thanked her personally for these wonderful ministrations and now I say one last time publicly (and to you Michelle if you're listening) THANK YOU!
   
3. She was remarkably generous: She repeatedly throughout her life cultivated the Christ-like quality of charity. A fitting epilogue to her life and times might be these profound verses given by the Apostle Paul to the Corinthian Saints:
   

   Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become [as] sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.
   

   And though I have [the gift of] prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.
   

   And though I bestow all my goods to feed [the poor], and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.
   

   Charity suffereth long, [and] is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
   

   Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
   

   Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;
   

   Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
   

   ¶ Charity never faileth:
   

    Charity never failed in Michelle's life. She would literally do anything for anyone anytime with no thought for the consequences to herself. While to some this might seem like a vulnerability of her I believe it will stand as a crowning achievement in her too brief life. Michelle refused to see bad in any person no matter who they were.

 

While our lives and the duration thereof is known only to the Lord, Michelle was "permitted to tarry" for what one might think was an exorbitant amount of time considering the fiery furnace of pain and misery through which she trod for the last few years of her life. As a young woman Michelle was given a special blessing in which she was told she would be an example and a strength to those around her throughout her life. She jokingly told Royette "when people see how miserable I am they can't help but feel better about their situations!!" That is SO Michelle!

 

While her life here on earth ended this past Monday between 5 and 6 PM. Her caring influence and the dignity of her perseverance will stand in bright remembrance to those who knew her for generations to come! What a marvelous fulfillment of her special spiritual endowment! What an excellent legacy!

 

Near the end of her life Michelle and I had the opportunity to review her spiritual standing before the Lord. It was a special moment for me to be with her at that sacred moment. Her concerns about her endurance seemed amazing to me! She was so patient in her afflictions. I was greatly enriched by that interview!

 

I feel Michelle had a solid gold soul! As you probably know the process or refining precious metals involves extreme heat to remove impurities. Michelle left the earth having endured the blast furnace of illness for many years. I believe she left purified before the Lord. Patience in her illness tried Michelle greatly. One last refining test. I say she passed!

 

 

 

 

Where is Michelle?

Should we mourn her passing?

Will we see each other again?

What do we each face when we step through death's door?

When Michelle passed through the veil of death she transitioned to the next phase of her existence as an immortal spirit waiting the morning of the first resurrection.

I would say to friends and family and all of the rest of you here assembled:

I know where she's at, and I know what she's doing!

    When one of our loved ones passes beyond the veil of this mortal existence the parting brings a deep sadness and longing to each of us that is left behind. We feel disconnected and alone, we pause and consider our own mortality and what we are doing with our lives. We long to know for sure what the future holds for us beyond the certain step with uncertain dimensions we call death. The passing of a loved one invites deep reflection. It may even invite anger at the perceived injustice of it all. I believe we may come to know and understand what the Psalmist testified of in the 30th Psalm:

"...weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning."

JST Psalms 30:Verse 5

    But how can joy arise from the ashes of sorrow, when we are so clearly left behind? When our sorrow is so painfully fresh? How can we recover from the incredible vacancy that enters our lives?

The marvelous truth is that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ has provided a way for us to be reunited with our loved ones on the other side! He has prepared a plan with God our Heavenly Father that ensures eternal happiness and joy awaits each one of us. John chapter 3 verse 16 records probably the most often quoted passage in all of scripture:

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

John 3:16

Everlasting life...this sounds like a long-term affair! When we come to terms with the eternal truth that we are eternal beings and that we will exist forever a massive measure of comfort enters our hearts. Job the afflicted prophet of old declared:

For I know [that] my redeemer liveth, and [that] he shall stand at the latter [day] upon the earth:

And [though] after my skin [worms] destroy this [body], yet in my flesh shall I see God:

Job 19: 25-26

The glorious remarkable truth which applies to Michelle and to each of us that we will have the ability in a future day to regain our physical bodies only with the added blessing of inheriting a perfected immortal body which is incapable of suffering all of the vicissitudes of this life. Imagine the joy Michelle will experience when she gets her immortal body especially given the recent decline of her earthly body!

The Holy Scriptures testify to us of the plan of God for his children's happiness. Let me share three of my favorites with you:

For since by man [came] death, by man [came] also the resurrection of the dead.

For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

1 Corinthians 15:21-22

Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,

And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life…

John 5: 28-29

In my Father's house are many mansions: if [it were] not [so], I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, [there] ye may be also.

John 14: 2-3

A Prophet declared, speaking of those who mourn for their deceased relatives:

....when I talk to these mourners, what have they lost? Their relatives and friends are only separated from their bodies for a short season: their spirits which existed with God have left the tabernacle of clay only for a little moment, as it were; and they now exist in a place where they converse together the same as we do on the earth,

I have a father, brothers, children, and friends who have gone to a world of spirits. They are only absent for a moment. They are in the spirit, and we shall soon meet again. The time will soon arrive when the trumpet shall sound. When we depart, we shall hail our mothers, fathers, friends, and all whom we love...

 

Let us not unduly mourn the passing of Michelle. She is not gone forever nor doth she sleep! Her physical tabernacle resides in this chapel, her magnificent eternal spirit has taken its place among the millions that have gone before!

    I admire the quality of Michelle's perseverance in the face of adversity, and I hope that as we take a moment today to remember her, we might consider what more we can do in this world to be like her. Her perseverance, love of others, and endless charity are each worthy of emulation and imitation.

    I feel confident that Michelle is marveling in the splendor of the paradise in which she is a new citizen. She and Herb are certainly "catching up on old times". We too are drawing ever closer to the transition to eternity we call "death". May we each have peace and clarity knowing that there is indeed a place "prepared for us".