Sharing from Beyond the Grave

My sister passed away at the age of 59 in November 2007 as a result of complications from a lung transplant she had in December 2006. I received a sympathy card from one of the pastors at my church a

My sister passed away at the age of 59 in November 2007 as a result of complications from a lung transplant she had in December 2006. I received a sympathy card from one of the pastors at my church and his wife that included a gift card to a local Christian bookstore with a note "to do with as we see fit". My sister was a supporter of global missions and had numerous missionary friends around the world. She had also trained to be a foreign missionary in college; however, she ended up spending most of her career working in the health care field locally. She did have the opportunity to go on two short-term mission trips, one to Mexico and one to Guatemala, during her lifetime.

Being accustomed to either receiving flowers or money, or acknowledgement of a donation to a charity or memorial fund (a memorial fund was established in her memory to support short-term missions projects), this gift of a gift card threw me off. "To do with as we see fit..." I pondered what to do with this card to honor my sister's memory. My husband solved that problem for me a few days later. He said for Christmas he didn't want me to get him any gift, but to give a gift to someone instead. He wanted to give a gift to Angel Tree Ministry (which provides gifts for children of inmates). The "angel" he chose was a girl our daughter's age who wanted a bible. I said, "That's how we'll use the gift card...to purchase a bible for this girl. That's what my sister would have wanted...to continue to spread the message of the Gospel of Christ."

I guess the gift card was not such an awkward gift as I had initially thought...and we were able to use it to honor my sister's memory.

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