Dear Friends:
My beloved wife of nearly 49 years, Susan Sanders, passed suddenly into the arms of Jesus this morning. She had her heart mitral valve repaired in 2008, replaced in 2012, and she had a pacemaker. Death held no fear for her. She had long ago made peace with death, and looked forward with certain faith to Jesus' embrace and hearing, "Well done, good & faithful servant! Enter into the joy of thy Lord."
Susan died as she had always lived, serving God and others. She had gone outside to feed the dogs and was coming back into the kitchen to fetch her oatmeal and collapsed. I ran to her but she was gone so quickly. As Susan loved to say, she is now "Dancing with the angels."
Susan was always joyful, always hopeful, always loving, and had to be bringing up seven children. Even in the depths of our federal trial in the early 1990s, I never heard a word of complaint escape her lips.
Her favorite psalm was Psalm 103.
The Lord gave, the Lord hath taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD!
Susan's funeral will take place Saturday at 1:00 p.m. at Christ Our Hope Reformed Episcopal Church in Westpoint, Tennessee. http://christourhoperec.com/
Please forgive us our slowness to respond in the next few day, understanding that our hearts and minds are wholly occupied with our loss.
But we honor Susan by imitating her devotion to God and her duty, and will take care to fulfill all our obligations. It goes without saying, I will not be publishing a daily commentary until next week at the earliest. Please pray for me, for our seven children, and for our 15 grandchildren as we mourn the loss of our beloved, and rejoice in her rest and salvation.
INTO thy hands, O merciful Savior, we commend the soul of thy servant, Susan, departed from the body. Acknowledge, we humbly beseech thee, a sheep of thine own fold, a lamb of thine own flock, a sinner of thine own redeeming. Receive her into the arms of thy mercy, into the blessed rest of everlasting peace, and into the glorious company of the saints in light. Amen.
Franklin Sanders - The Money Changer
