Margaret Jane Bee

What a wake! What a woman! What a testimony! What a God!

            Last night we gathered at Thompson Bible Chapel to hold a wake for Margaret Bee, a faithful Christian who has been a part of TBC for the last number of years. Her battles (plural) with cancer have been hard, her pain has been extreme, her parenting stresses real; but as family and friends gathered to grieve together, the emphasis was not on the shortness or unfairness or the difficulty of her life. All of those things are real and they were not denied, but last night the big focus was all about remembering a life well-lived and especially her home-going to be with Jesus.

            One after another friends and family responded to Bert’s invitation to pay tribute to Margaret. With song and with spoken word, Margaret was remembered as a great friend and relative who made her life count for eternity by living for Jesus each and every day. She was remembered as someone who always wanted to live each moment to the fullest, and had encountered Jesus in a way that gave her “life abundant” as well as a deep-seated desire that her family would also embrace her faith. I        

            I have only known Margaret for a few months, but what I saw in this woman of faith was affirmed by many others who have known her much longer. When Laverne Spence got up to share some “words of encouragement with the family,” I was so impressed with the spiritual comfort and admonition he brought. (Bruce, it is no wonder you call him “friend”) The whole evening was a time of rich encouragement to me and a great reminder of the importance of a real and meaningful testimony. Thank you, Margaret Jane Bee, for leaving us that kind of legacy. Thank you for being the kind of person who calls us to Christian oneness and encouragement. Thank you for “shining the light” in your generation, as you had opportunity.

            Though just a few years older than I, Margaret’s race is over and her journey on Earth is done. I picture her hearing the words “Enter into the joy of your Master” and running with a smile on her face and tears streaming down her face to be with Jesus. There she can dance on the streets of heaven as she joins that “great cloud of witnesses” cheering us onward.