More Stella Moments

The service for Mom was truly a celebration of a life well-lived investing in people, all for God's glory. Our focus was on the Lord, and I know this is what Mom wanted. The gospel was clearly presented, and every person who attended is now accountable for what they heard...and that includes me!


I along with my sister and brother have BIG shoes to fill if we want to do Mom's legacy justice. This is where my thoughts lie tonight as I sit tonight pondering. So many precious people came to pay their respects and share some of their personal experiences with Mom. Here are a few:


* A woman I believe named Cathy (I can't recall her last name) came up to me at the funeral home and said how much Mom had meant to her. Back when this woman was in her 20's, Mom would meet her for breakfast at McDonalds. Cathy was struggling with some heavy issues, and she said Mom helped her through a very difficult time in her life to help get her back on the right track with the Lord. From what I could tell from my conversation with Cathy, it appeared that she is a woman who loves Jesus and is living for Him. Praise the Lord!


* A woman named Lisa shared with me at the funeral home that she had been greatly impacted by Mom. I didn't recognize her though she had gone to the same highschool I did in Sandy Springs (a suburb of Atlanta). I wondered if she had been in one of the many Sunday school classes Mom had taught or perhaps sung in the choir and got to know her there. No, that was not the case. She went on to explain that Mom's influence was indirect but powerful nonetheless. You see, this woman Lisa is being mentored by another woman. That woman's name is Boo Elliott. And Boo Elliott was mentored by my Mom. My Neal was standing beside me as she shared this with me. He leaned in close to her and said, "And who are you going to mentor?" Her reply..."Right now, that would be my 14 year old daughter." As Neal put it so well, "Isn't that the way it's supposed to work?!" I agree and say Praise the Lord!


* A man named Rob shared with me how much he had gleaned from Mom. He also shared that there was such a "softness" about her that simply captured him. This man had been through a divorce, and Mom had loved him in them midst of and through that hard time in his life. Praise the Lord!


* Another man named Monty was taught by Mom and her co-teacher Ferrell Ryan. They taught "young marrieds". Monty is now teaching a Sunday school class and told me today that everyone in his class knows who Stella is, though none of them knew her personally because he's now serving in another church and quotes her frequently as he teaches. That really excites me because I know that what my Mom taught and quoted was the WORD OF GOD. Therefore, Monty's students are hearing TRUTHS from God's Word which is the only thing that's worth quoting! Praise the Lord!

* The same Ferrell Ryan mentioned above shared with me that Mom was the first person to come visit he and his wife when they moved to Atlanta many decades ago. The really interesting part of his story is that the Ryans were living in an apartment while their home was being built, and Mom indeed come to those apartments. But she had come to visit another family but knocked on the wrong apartment door....or did she? I say no and praise the Lord!

More Stella moments in upcoming blogs.........praise the Lord for His goodness to me and my family as He continues to minister to us in the midst of our grief!