In one of our many meetings with the oncologist he said how amazed he was at how strong, positive and resilient she was, and how she was holding up so well. Averil immediately replied: “It is not me, but my faith”. And by that she did not mean faith in faith or faith in herself, but faith in her Lord Jesus Christ.

Yesterday was a busy day as we said farewell to Averil Ann Muehlenberg. It featured the noon burial at the cemetery with the immediate family, and then the public church funeral service held later in the afternoon. My wife got a special sendoff yesterday. A million thanks to everyone who was involved. The problem is, how do you properly pay tribute to someone in a 90-minute service?

That was the dilemma for all of us. In my case, I was married to her for 41 ½ years out of my 70 ½ years – and had known her around 44 years all up. So my ten-minute talk was quite selective. The whole service can be seen online if you missed it, and you can hear the words and thoughts of all the others involved.

Here, if you don’t mind, I will share a bit about what I tried to say in my short reflection in case you have not yet seen it but are interested.

I began by thanking various folks. That included Anita who had set up a Christian crowd-funding site so early on when we learned that a new immunotherapy that might help would cost us $60,000. But within two weeks all that money came in! That shows how much people cared about Averil – and myself.

And the chief person to thank of course was God himself: for weeks now the weather has been quite cloudy and/or rainy – as it is again today. But Monday was a perfectly sunny day with blue skies everywhere, and even rather mild temperatures. Thank you Lord for that amazing weather. We even brought Jilly dog along to the burial at the cemetery.

I then spoke about how her life was characterised by trust – trust in God through Christ. Here are a few great biblical passages on this (the four starred verses are the ones I used in the service, and are especially important):

Job 13:15 Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him

Psalm 13:5 I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.

*Psalm 56:3 When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.

*Psalm 62:8 Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us.

Psalm 115:11 You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord! He is their help and their shield.

Psalm 125:1 Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever.

Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.

*Isaiah 26:4 Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.

Jeremiah 17:7 Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord.

*Nahum 1:7 The Lord is good, A stronghold in the day of trouble; And He knows those who trust in Him.

I then ran through a dozen photos of her and us.

I then offered two words of testimony. The first came around six months ago. In one of our many meetings with the oncologist he said how amazed he was at how strong, positive and resilient she was, and how she was holding up so well. Averil immediately replied: “It is not me, but my faith”. And by that she did not mean faith in faith or faith in herself, but faith in her Lord Jesus Christ.

The second testimony involved a Christian nurse who was with her when she was in one of the hospitals. Averil always asked about the staff, learned their names, inquired about their well-being, and so on. I mentioned this in the social media a while back, and a few days later this nurse made this comment:

“I can attest that Averil had an enormous impact on those who cared for her. Her graciousness, gratefulness and peace (beyond understanding) profoundly affected the staff in a way that I haven’t seen before. Caring for her was a privilege I cannot express adequately. I will be forever thankful to have been there for that small part of her journey home.” Nurse Michelle Louise

I then featured two quotes. The first comes from Dr James Dobson and his book, When God Doesn’t Make Sense:

In my first film series, “Focus on the Family,” I shared a story about a 5-year-old African-American boy who will never be forgotten by those who knew him. A nurse with whom I worked, Gracie Schaeffler, took care of this lad during the latter days of his life. He was dying of lung cancer, which is a terrifying disease in its final stages. The lungs fill with fluid, and the patient is unable to breathe. It is terribly claustrophobic, especially for a small child.

This little boy had a Christian mother who loved him and stayed by his side through the long ordeal. She cradled him on her lap and talked softly about the Lord. Instinctively, the woman was preparing her son for the final hours to come. Gracie told me that she entered his room one day as death approached, and she heard this lad talking about hearing bells. “The bells are ringing, Mommie,” he said. “I can hear them.”

Gracie thought he was hallucinating because he was already slipping away. She left and returned a few minutes later and again heard him talking about hearing bells ringing. The nurse said to his mother, “I’m sure you know your baby is hearing things that aren’t there. He is hallucinating because of the sickness.”

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