Gathering the Lost Sheep - In Honor of Rich

Richard Robert Miller (1963 - 2012) 

Richard Robert Miller, 49, of Edgerton, passed away on Monday, September 17, 2012, at his home with his loving family by his side, following a year battle against brain cancer. He was born on January 2, 1963, in Edgerton, son of the late Walter and Elaine (Funk) Miller. He was united in marriage on June 12, 2004, to Carol Prendergast, of Monroe, at the Fulton Church.

Rich was a faithful employee for 16 years at Independent Pharmacy Cooperative, Sun Prairie. He enjoyed making home video's, gardening, the outdoors, yard work, computers, photography and going to the casino. His special love was spending time with his wife and two sons.

He is survived by his wife of eight years, Carol; two sons, Henry age 6 and Charlie age 4, of Edgerton; six sisters, Becky (Todd) Popanz of Edgerton, Angie Miller of Sibley, MO, Marilyn Banaszak of Milladore, WI, MaryAnn (Paul) Shupe, Lexington, MA, LaVonn (Tim) Reed of Evansville, and Nancy (Craig) Christensen of Minneapolis MN; two brothers, Doug (Lyn Grossman) Miller of Atlanta, GA, and Edwin Miller of Edgerton; mother-in-law, Joan Prendergast of Janesville/Monroe; sister-in-law, Ann Miller of Edgerton; aunts, uncles, many nieces, nephews, great-nieces and nephews, cousins, in-laws and friends. He was preceded in death by his parents and father-in-law, Jerry Prendergast.

Friends may call at the Fulton Church, 9209 N Fulton St. Edgerton, WI. (Town of Fulton), on Friday, September 21, 2012, from 1 p.m. until the time of the Memorial Service at 2:30 p.m. with the Rev. Larry Mackenzie and Rev. Dr. Paul Shupe officiating. In lieu of other expressions of sympathy, a memorial fund is being set up for his sons education. The EHLERT FUNERAL HOME AND CREMATION SERVICES of Edgerton is assisting the family.



We attended the funeral for Rich Miller this past Friday.  Rich's wife, Carol, and Brian are first-cousins.  I haven't been to many funerals and it was so heart-breaking to imagine what Carol must be feeling and going through.  Their two young sons, Henry and Charlie, are so precious and adored by so many.  My heart really hurts for them knowing that they will grow up without their daddy. 

 

Carol had asked that instead of "buying flowers", she thought Rich would really like it if friends and family with flower gardens brought some clippings from their homes.  Realizing that many flowers may no longer be in bloom, creativity was encouraged and she noted that she was really excited to see the church filled with friends' and families' garden gems.  Rich enjoyed gardening of all sorts and so we were extremely creative in our bouquet, even adding a pepper plant that was still flowering and had peppers growing and also a cucumber vine (with a cucumber on it) as well as hydrangeas, black-eyed Susan's, purple aster, zucchini leaves and flowers, hawthorn-tree branchlets with their fall berries and also some wisteria vine.  Our finished bouquet is pictured below.  We think it would have made Rich smile ...

During the service, we learned that one of the things Rich woo'd Carol with was a garden hoe.  He liked farming and gardening, ... and he grew things well.  Sure enough, that garden hoe, still with it's original bow, was placed outside near a fall arrangement in honor of Rich.  The pumpkin on the ground had a note carved on it from his sons to their daddy.

We also learned that Rich was the youngest of nine children born to his parents, on a farm in Edgerton, Wisconsin, ... the same farm where he lived with his wife and sons, where he passed away last week and where his remains will be buried.   In the photo below, his ashes were held in the blue-marble box, which was carefully and honorably displayed at the front of the sanctuary during the service.  The service was so special and uniquely planned, I think, with Rich in mind.   

 

On the day that Rich passed away, Carol took this photo from her back patio.

Her caption is just below the photo.

"This was taken just shortly after my beloved Rich left this earth to dance on the streets of gold with his Lord & Savior Jesus Christ. Til we meet again love..."

The strength that Carol exhibited, in her husband's passing and at his funeral, was so clearly being drawn from her faith in the God who Created her and loves her, joined her with Rich for a time, blessed them immensely with two beautiful sons and then brought Rich to his eternal home in heaven. 

Carol's response?

You are still my GOD and I will still love YOU!

Some of you may remember, a few weeks ago I posted THIS POST - (http://fromwisconsintohonduras.blogspot.com/2012/09/with-us-in-honduras-for-cm-and-rm.html).  In that post, I referred to Carol and Rich (without actually stating their names).  Carol has graciously allowed me to "talk about them" so in this post I am being much more specific.  In the previous post, I stated that in Honduras I would share with people their story.  I would tell people about Rich in the hopes that his death would not be in vain, that it would be for the Greater Good and to God's glory.  Perhaps, at the time, the idea was more to make me feel better about my confusion over the impending tragedy.

Now, though, Rich has passed and the idea seems to have shifted, especially after attending his funeral.  All of a sudden I realized that I don't have to wait to get to Honduras ... that I shouldn't wait until I get to Honduras ...

Consider the verses below ...

^{Luke 15:3} Then Jesus told them this parable: ⁴ “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? ⁵ And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders ⁶ and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ ⁷ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

In all honesty, on most days ... I feel like the "ninety-nine" are actually the LOST SHEEP and the "one" is the loner who stays inside the pen. And I wonder if part of the reason why so many of us are anxious about sharing our faith one-on-one, six inches away from a real, live person might have something to do with the fact that, more often than not, those who are closest to us, those to whom we've expressed the Truth about Jesus, are the ones who have rejected it and/or were not permanently changed by the information given.

It often seems so difficult to reach the people around us ... this world that we live in is moving at such a raging speed as society and technology continue to propel it even further into a whirlwind ..., it's impossible to keep up and so many are sinking in "distraction", ... before too long, they don't even know how they got to where they are with no prospect of changing their situation.

They ... are ... lost. 

Sometimes the wind can gently blow against our face without us even realizing it.

Sometimes it can move among the branches and leaves of the trees without us even seeing it.

Sometimes it can whisper through the creaks and crevices of our homes without us even hearing it.

That doesn't change the fact that it was there.

God is not invisible. Just because we can't see HIM the same way we see each other does not mean that He doesn't exist or that He's not there. God is present in our everyday lives but with all of the things that keep us distracted, we can often be oblivious to His presence. Oh, that your eyes would be opened, that your mind would be light and that you would experience the healing grace that is there ... just waiting for you to take hold of it. TRULY there is a love beyond your human understanding that remains available to you, yet you are not reaching for.

Though Carol has experienced a multitude of emotions in the last year and will continue to experience several emotions throughout her process of grief, it has been amazing already to witness her unwavering focus on our LORD and to truly see that she is anchored to Him.  His strength is her strength.  His comfort is her comfort.  His peace is her peace.   She knows where her husband is and while he is no longer here on earth with her, the knowledge that he is in the presence of the One who created Him is her reassuring peace.

But what about you?  When your next loved one dies, will you be at peace or will you suffer endlessly because of hopelessness?  What about when you die?  Will the person you leave behind be strengthened by peace or crippled by despair?

Family member, Friend, Reader ... I know that each person’s circumstances are different and there are many factors that play a part in a person’s spiritual condition but sometimes it really boggles my mind to imagine what keeps a person from putting their faith in the One and Only True God.  So, what is it?  What barrier keeps you from being confident that God is your Creator and His Son, Jesus, is your Savior?

Jesus, the Son of God, died for all of us who live in this fallen world because He loves us, ... He loves you and He wants for you to spend Eternity with Him in Heavenly Peace!!  How Can You NOT WANT that???

If I could make you, I would ... believe me ... I would feel so much better knowing that in Eternity, you will be there, forever released from all of the YUCK that is inevitably encountered in this world.  But I cannot force you ... it is a choice that God gives to you ... it's your choice.  Everyday, people make bad choices … ALL people … including you, ... including me. Yet, our bad choices don’t diminish or invalidate the greatness of God.  Our choices affect who we are, what our experiences are, how we relate to those experiences and never has so much depended upon the choice we have between life and death.

An old Cherokee chief was teaching his grandson about life…

 

[“A fight is going on inside me,” he said to the boy.
“It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves.”

“One is EVIL – he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, self-doubt, and ego.”

“The other is GOOD – he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith.”

“This same fight is going on inside you – and inside every other person, too.”

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather,

“Which wolf will win?”

The old chief simply replied, “The one you feed.”

- Author Unknown]

 

I don't actually mean to sound harsh when I tell you that there is no middle ground here and time is ticking for the ones who are sitting on the fence. It just is what it is ... opinions cannot change the TRUTH and for those of you who say "that's just what you THINK it is", this isn’t about me being right and it isn’t about doing and thinking whatever you want as long as you feel “good” and “comfortable” … THIS IS SERIOUS!! It's serious and there are people who truly care about the choices that you make.  And because sometimes it seems that what we think, feel, say or do has no bearing on the choices that you make, we do the one thing that we know is not in vain.  We’re praying for you ... and we’ll keep praying … that your lack of peace will only increase ... that the Spirit will continue to poke you until you can no longer ignore ... that His whisper will become the only voice you hear in your head, in your heart and in your soul ... that you will ultimately surrender to Love and Grace, thus finding True Peace.

LORD, Jesus, ... You are the Son of the Living God and You are my Salvation.  You are the only Pure Light in this cold, dark world ... You are the Way and the Truth and the Life and You have told us that no one shall come to the Father except through You.  I do not know all there is to know about You and I do not even understand all that I do know ... but I trust You and I believe You and I have faith in all that I do not understand because ... it is YOU ... and You would never hurt me and You are not against me.  You shelter me and You guide me and You sustain me.  You prepare a place for me in Your home ... in heaven ... and one day, I will see You, face-to-face and I will be complete.  LORD, what I have in You, I want others to have as well.  So many seem to reject You; do they really even know what they are doing?  LORD, I pray that they will hear the whisper of Your still, small voice as a resounding gong.  I pray that Your Spirit will visit in dreams, in the eyes of strangers, in a child's voice, in a smile ... and that blinders will be banned from awareness.  I pray that you will remove the pleasure of "distraction" and that a clear focus is unavoidable.  Halleluia ... You are inescapable!  I pray that they will resist the urge to continue running away from You and, rather, CHOOSE to run straight into your healing, comforting, Saving Grace!  
In Your Precious Name, AMEN

 

 

 Jeremiah 29:12-15 (MSG)

¹² “When you call on me, when you come and pray to me, I’ll listen.

^13-14 “When you come looking for me, you’ll find me.

“Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I’ll make sure you won’t be disappointed.”

Matthew 18:12-14 (NIV)
 ¹² “What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? ¹³ And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. ¹⁴ In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost.