Storybearers - Week 4

0:00 · Speaker 1 Great song. Thank you to the band. A great song, actually, to transition from a conversation with Rebecca into what we're going to be talking about this morning. And like I said, this is the final one in our series. And we've talked about each week choosing a passage from Scripture that is what I've called this golden thread in the story of the person that we're talking to. And the passage this week is from the Psalms. It is Psalm 139. It is one that has been part of stories before.

0:31 · Speaker 1 In fact, Rachel, who was up singing, who's just left the stage, I chatted with this Psalm with her about seven years ago. So we're covering old ground in some ways, but we're covering new ground in lots of ways too. Let me read this Psalm. Let me read this song to you. We're not going to be able to cover much of the ground in it. Just a couple of thoughts before I chat with Louise, but I want to read it as a whole and let us hear it in its entirety. So here's what it says. You have searched me, Lord, and you know me.

1:05 · Speaker 1 You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise. You perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going and my out and my lying down, you're familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue, you, Lord, know it completely. You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand on me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. Where can I go from your spirit?

1:39 · Speaker 1 Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you're there. If I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me, even the darkness will not be dark to you. The night will shine like the day for darkness is as light to you. For you created my inmost being. You knit me together in my mother's womb.

2:20 · Speaker 1 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful. I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book. That harks back to Sharon's interview a few weeks ago. Before one of them came to be, how precious to me are your thoughts, God.

2:53 · Speaker 1 And David's talking there about God's thoughts about him. How vast is the sum of them. Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand. when I awake I am still with you. If only you God would slay the wicked. Away from me you who are bloodthirsty. They speak of you with evil intent. Your adversaries misuse your name.

3:15 · Speaker 1 Do not hate those who hate you Lord and abhor those who are in rebellion against you. I have nothing but hatred for them. I count them my enemies. Search me, God, and know my heart. Test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting. So before Louise comes up, just a couple of thoughts. First one in that first verse, you have searched me, Lord, and you know me.

3:52 · Speaker 1 You know me. In all the stories, Winnie the Pooh stories, there is a little scene that takes place in one of those, and it's a little interaction between Eeyore. I'm sure all of you will know who Eeyore is, and I don't have a picture of the other character, but I'm sure most of us will know who Rabbit is. Two very different characters. And in this scene, Rabbit basically turns to Eeyore and says, Eeyore, I didn't notice you were there. And Eeyore, in his little sad sack voice, says this. That's all right. Nobody ever does.

4:34 · Speaker 1 And as I was thinking about this and reflecting on this, I was thinking both these characters, in a way, into the reality, into the experience we have of wanting to be seen, of wanting to be known, of wanting to be understood. And the way we're wired is different. Some of us might be Eeyores. I'm not going to look directly at anybody, but some of us might be like that in terms of our experiences and our personality. We've come to this place where we're like Eeyore. We have this sort of, I don't know, slightly melancholy resignation that we're going to be noticed, that we're never going to be seen in the way that other people are seen. But then on the other side, there are a number of us who might be rabbits, who do all that we can to be seen, to perform to everybody else, to make ourselves as important as possible, to be liked, to be wanted, to be accepted, to be seen, to be noticed.

5:37 · Speaker 1 And many of us here can probably talk to what an exhausting and often unsatisfying endeavor that can be. And these verses, you have searched me and you know me, speak into both those mindsets and challenge both those mindsets and cut across both those mindsets. And that is captured in a little quote. And I came across this quote this week. Sandra and I were doing marriage preparation with a couple who are getting married next month here. And as part of that, we read through Tim and Kathy Keller's book, The Meaning of Marriage, and we talk about it. And there's a quote in there that just stood out to me as I was preparing. And it says this, to be loved, but not known is comforting, but superficial.

6:25 · Speaker 1 To be known and not loved is our greatest fear. But to be fully known and truly loved It is, well, a lot like being loved by God. It is what we need more than anything. It liberates us from pretense, humbles us out of our self-righteousness, and fortifies us for any difficulty life can throw at us. Here is the truth of these verses. I think that's a truth that many of us often know in our heads but need to keep on working at appropriate it and bring it down into our hearts. Whoever you are, whatever your situation, whatever your circumstances today, these verses say you are fully seen, you are fully known, you are fully loved by your creator who is love himself.

7:29 · Speaker 1 And that is a truth. when we get it here that is liberating, that is transforming, that is humbling, that is strengthening. But it's not an easy truth. In verses 7 to 12, David goes on to talk about the inescapability of God's seeing and discerning and knowing presence. He says, where can I go from your spirit? Where can I go from your presence? Where can I go from your seeing and you're knowing me nowhere. And you can almost read this depending on your perspective as a desire to escape.

8:11 · Speaker 1 Whenever something is inescapable, you've basically got two choices. You can rail against it or you can accept it and rest in it. And that's where David comes to here. This is wondrous praise that he is bringing to God in this psalm. And it's praise because of who it is who sees him. This would be terrifying if it was anyone but God himself. But because it is him, it is something that leads to wondrous praise. and one thing that's always helped me with that is thinking about the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4.

9:07 · Speaker 1 And here's a woman who is doing everything she can. That's the only reason why she's at the well at this time. Doing everything she can to escape the condemnatory gaze of the community around her. And then she encounters Jesus and she encounters a gaze, the seeing and knowing gaze of the son of God that is also, that is inescapable. But yeah, we look at her reaction because we see in this story that his is a seeing of her that ultimately liberates her. You know what happens. She goes off into the town and she proclaims in joy and excitement, come see a man who told me everything I ever did. Can you imagine shouting something like that from the rooftops.

9:59 · Speaker 1 But that's what she does because she has grasped that his was a saying of her and a knowing of her of love and mercy and forgiveness and grace. And we can join her in praise and wonder and we can join David in the psalm in praise and wonder in worship of this truth, in welcoming this truth and embracing it and joining in with David saying, God, it is amazing. I don't understand, but it is amazing that you know me and you see me fully. And so see me more. Search my heart. Help me to grow. Lead me on the path that is everlasting. You are seen, you are known.

10:51 · Speaker 1 It is inescapable, but it is a wonderful inescapability. And then finally, and Louise is really going to focus on these verses whenever she comes up in a moment. And centering on the proclamation that we are each fearfully and wonderfully made. A few weeks ago, not in connection with this talk or this series in any way, Jamie Yohannes sent me a little quote from a book that is a series of sermons by Francis Schaeffer. And it's a little book called No Little People, No Little Places. And that, the talk that is written, that's the title of, is a brilliant little talk. But it's the phrase that has stuck with me. No little people, no little places.

11:44 · Speaker 1 I think the story Louise is about to tell us is a perfect example of this truth, of the economy of God's kingdom that Schaeffer articulates here. No little people, no little places. That's a truth I think many of us again need to grasp for ourselves, that whatever the world, whatever philosophers or ethicists or medical professionals or lawmakers or politicians or employers, whatever any other voice might say about our utility, about our value, about our worth, about our dignity, here's what the voice of God says about every human being made in his image. He says, you're mine. You're fearfully and wonderfully made. My works in you are wonderful. There is absolute value to your life. There is dignity and glory in your life.

12:47 · Speaker 1 There is purpose in your life. Because I created you. Because I think about you. And of course, not in this psalm, but we can add, because I sent my son to die for you. I sent my son to overcome death for you. to rise again, and I sent my son to return for you, to bring you into the way that is everlasting. The world always asks the question, who am I? Who am I?

13:29 · Speaker 1 The question we need to begin with is, the song we just sang told us is, instead of who am I, whose am I? There's not a lot of difference in terms of the letters there, but there's a profound difference in where each of those two questions takes you. And that's the question that needs to be the heart of who we are. And while this should be, if we grasp it, an amazing comfort for us, many of us this morning, it should also be a challenge to us as the church of Jesus Christ, as the body of Christ, because all that is true of you but all that is also true of the person sitting in front of you and behind you and beside you and the challenge before us is not just to believe this is a theoretical truth but to actually live this truth out in this family and through this family to seek in the power of the Holy Spirit to see and to value and to know and to love and with sober judgment truly say and live in God's economy in this family there are no little people there are no little places

14:58 · Speaker 1 Each and every person has a God-given purpose to play out within this body. And we're going to hear some of that now, I think, Louise. Just, I'm sure, a story that will really illustrate some of this away. Don't we welcome Louise up, and we'll get ourselves set up here. Welcome again. I did pray that doing this once is hard enough, but doing it a second time is definitely a challenge. This is the one to get through.

15:37 · Speaker 1 Can I first of all, Louise, as I did at first service, say how much, as I've said to everybody else, I do so appreciate you taking the time to talk to me in the first place, to decide whether you're going to do this, to prepare for it and to actually get up here and tell us your story. So thank you so much for doing that. Why don't you begin like we always do? Most people here will know you, but for those who don't, why don't you just briefly introduce yourself?

16:05 · Speaker 2 Hi, everyone. My name's Louise Jones, and I am wife of Mark and mum to three teenagers, Ewan, Lydia, and Katie. And we have been coming along to Glenelby for about 12 years.

16:17 · Speaker 1 Brilliant. And like Corrie's story, about three weeks ago now, your story is definitely about you, but it's also very much about a person close to you, very close to you. So why don't you tell us about Jane, who really sits at the heart of this story?

16:36 · Speaker 2 Yeah. So I'm one of five girls. I have an older sister, Julie, and then I'm number two. And then there's Grace, and then there's the twins, Jane and Hazel. and Jane is the sister that I'm going to talk about today. When Jane was born, she was born with a number of health conditions that kind of defined the course of her life. She was born with spina bifida, which meant that she couldn't walk at all and so she was a wheelchair user. She also had another condition that sometimes goes hand in hand with spina bifida and that's hydrocephalus, where she had too much cerebral spinal fluid in her brain, and she couldn't absorb or circulate it properly.

17:21 · Speaker 2 So when she was a tiny little baby, doctors were able to put a tube into her brain and drain that fluid down into her abdominal cavity. And then probably one of the complications then of that was that she lost her sight, and Jane was blind, and she also had learning difficulty. So Jane needed a lot of care and a lot of attention. She went to Hillcroft Special Needs School, and I know we have some staff from a very special place here in Glen Abbey. And then whenever she was 19 and kind of aged out of Hillcroft, she was looked after by mum and dad at home with the help of some carers coming in and out. But as I've been thinking about how to introduce Jane or to even introduce myself. It's funny how we can define people. And I've described Jane there in terms of her diagnosis and her care needs.

18:18 · Speaker 2 But Jane was so, so much more than that. I suppose I prefer to remember, as someone who was very affectionate, if you were to meet Jane, her arms would be up. And she'd want a big squeezy hug. And it wasn't a polite, you know, kind of side hug. Do you know that she kind of greet people on the way into church? It was like a full embrace, squeezy hug, and it was a wee bit of a dance to get out of it. Again, she never really wanted to let go. Jane was also very funny and fun.

18:51 · Speaker 2 She had such a sense of humour, and she always was up for a bit of banter. She loved a cup of tea. She loved a trip to the hairdressers. She loved an afternoon quiz show, and she loved a good audiobook, like Anna of Green Gables or Enid Blyton, anywhere where there was a bit of mischief to be had. Jane was 110% up for that. And she loved a routine. Routine was very important to Jane, and she liked life to be just so, and that was important to her. She loved to laugh, and when Jane laughed, it was like a full body laugh.

19:32 · Speaker 2 Do you know when you're looking at somebody and like, are they going to breathe? She just laughed and laughed and giggled and giggled, and it was quite infectious. And she also loved songs, but never the actual lyrics to songs. She liked to make up her own words to the songs, and she liked to make you sing along with her to those songs. And it didn't matter if you were at home or in public or anywhere, you had to sing along to her made-up words, to happy birthday or whatever the tune was that she had in her head. So her joy was infectious. Jane was also so trusting. She accepted her life was the way it was.

20:13 · Speaker 2 And she was very content with the little things in her life. You would never have heard Jane complaining that she couldn't walk or couldn't see or couldn't do the things that the rest of her sisters were getting up to. She never was someone where you felt that she needed more or needed better. There was never that strife in Jane's life. She was content. She was very, very happy. She was also very congruent. She never felt the need to be self-conscious.

20:45 · Speaker 2 Jane was who she was, no matter where she was or who she was talking to. I think she'd be talking to the Queen of England and she would have wanted a big squeezy hug. Jane was just who Jane was. She never needed to pretend to be anything else. She never needed to exaggerate or to lie. And she never needed me to be anything other than who I was either. She was so accepting. So there was something very, very endearing about her.

21:11 · Speaker 2 But as I've been thinking about this and trying to define somebody, it can be quite hard. And so I had this thought that actually maybe the best way to define any of our lives is by how somebody feels after they've spent some time with us. And after spending time with Jane, I always felt her warmth and her love. I always felt her acceptance and her affection. And there was something very, very beautiful about that.

21:43 · Speaker 1 I think you've painted a brilliant picture there and really helped those of us who didn't know Jane to understand her and see her in our mind's eye, I think. So I really appreciate that. Thank you. Of course, many people here will know because of prayers that Jane passed away in January. So do you want to talk us through, I suppose, the lead up to that the last few months, if that's okay?

22:09 · Speaker 2 Yeah. So this wee shunt that I talked about at the start that took the extra fluid from her brain played up a bit when she was a child and a teenager and they did review and revisions and things like that. But then she had about 15 years of it being really settled. and she had relatively good health during that time. My mum always said it was so that we could all have our babies. There was 13 grandchildren, our nieces and nephews for Jane, born in that time. But it was February 2023 that that shunt stopped working well. And that started a series of admissions and surgeries.

22:51 · Speaker 2 And at that stage, she was in and out of hospital for about nine weeks And she had to endure seven neurosurgeries during that time. And she had a number of complications and infections. But we got to bring her home. And for the next 18 months, she was very much her delightful self. But she never really returned to her kind of baseline of health of where she had been. It had taken a lot out of her. And it took her a long time to recover from those surgeries. And she was plagued with just a few extra infections and health conditions.

23:27 · Speaker 2 And then it was October of last year that I got a phone call from mom to say that we needed to bring Jane back to ANA at the Royal. So we'd been back and forward a number of times. And this time it was confirmed that her shunt wasn't working well again. And so began another round of surgeries and complications and infections. But this time, after nine weeks of being quite unwell, the doctors explained that Jane had contracted a really rare infection that was very hard to treat. And there were limited options left for surgery. And she had other things going on. And so we'd reached the end of the road for medical intervention.

24:10 · Speaker 2 And it was time to bring her home. So we brought Jane home on the 7th of December. And we got four amazing weeks of being able to love her and care for her. And then she passed away at the start of January.

24:30 · Speaker 1 Thank you. I'm going to chat with people briefly about how we come to having you up here, Corrie up here, and then Sharon up here. And we've talked a little bit about that before, but I was obviously at Jane's funeral celebration service up the road in January. And then we were preparing, I heard your tribute to her. I was deeply moved by that and just thought, I suppose lots of other people need to hear this. But I then remember approaching Mark and going, I know this is a complete long shot. I know it's very early, but what do you think? And I was like, no, I don't think so, but I will ask.

25:12 · Speaker 1 And so your response was slightly different. So I suppose I want to ask, you know, in the same way as I've asked Nina, Sharon and Corey, you know, why do you want to be up here? I know you don't want to be, but in that sense, you know, why did you say yes, I suppose? Because again, like with Rebecca, I genuinely didn't force anybody's hand here.

25:33 · Speaker 2 I am here willingly. And you asked me this at first service and I hadn't prepared an answer, so I feel like I have a slightly better answer this time. So three parts. One is, I suppose I'd never do an automatic no whenever God's asking or the potential that God's asking me to do something. I always want to preferably consider it. And I did feel that God has something that he wants me to say today. So I am here out of obedience to that. But also that I suppose I want Jane's legacy and purpose and meaning to live on.

26:08 · Speaker 2 So that's a big part of that today. And hopefully ultimately for people to see that God has really been glorified through his life, her life. So that would be my better, hopefully answer than first service.

26:20 · Speaker 1 I thought the first service answer was really good as well. So no, that's brilliant. Thank you. So let's then talk about that, about her legacy. Let's talk about, you'd asked me to talk and read Psalm 139 this morning. Is that, like I say, that little golden thread. So, and that phrase that stands out to you, and that is that phrase, "fairfully and wonderfully made." So maybe do you want to just tell us some of your thoughts as to how Jane's story and that connects and I suppose what you've brought out of that as you've reflected on this?

26:51 · Speaker 2 Yeah. I suppose whenever people might look on at Jane's life without knowing her and loving her and caring for her like a sister, you might be tempted to see the difficulties and the limitations that her life has They were real, and there was difficulties, and there was limitations. But I see a different picture. I see how precious she was. I see how loved she was, and how she loved in return. There's nobody else in my life that greeted me without stretched arms for a big, squeezy hug every time I went to visit. Hint, hint to the rest of my family. There was nobody else in my life that would just accept me for exactly who I was, weirdness and all.

27:45 · Speaker 2 And she really did manage to bring out a lot of weirdness in me. You could be completely yourself with her. And she was a gift to me. It was my privilege to be her sister. She taught me so many lessons without even knowing she was, teaching me so many lessons. and like I said she taught me what contentment was she taught me joy in the midst of difficulty she taught me how to be congruent and completely yourself she taught me truthfulness she was brutally honest at times she never let you away with anything you told stories I remember about

28:27 · Speaker 1 about her yeah letting people in to family secrets yes from the back of church is that right yeah so

28:34 · Speaker 2 would have been known to shout the odd thing out in the middle of church that might have dropped her sisters in it a bit. And it's kind of things like, I nearly said the sister's name there, one sister who would have found a visiting speaker a bit boring, you know, like might have been discussing that around the dinner table or whatever. She would have let everybody know. So you became quite censored on a Sunday, be careful what you say. So she was a lot of fun and she brought that element to all of our galleries and conversations. She was also fearfully and wonderfully made because of her faith. She obviously had learning difficulty, but yet was able to fully grasp that God loved her. She fully understood the concept of heaven and what was waiting for her there.

29:25 · Speaker 2 And through her life, we could see God's glory displayed and being able to meet people wherever they're at, whether you're a very intellectual mind or not, God is able to meet you. And just, she was fearfully and wonderfully made in that she showed us all of these things. Her life also gave us an eternal perspective. And James, it talks about our life being a vapor and having someone that you care about live with a life limiting condition really brings that perspective to life. And I think from a young age, it has helped me have more of a eternal perspective in terms of my decisions and priorities as well. But I think ultimately, she's fearfully and wonderfully made because her life really did glorify God. And I suppose we won't know the full extent of that, but we know for sure that her life has already touched lives and given us an opportunity to speak about God's goodness and God's faithfulness in all sorts of different contexts and with people that we maybe wouldn't have had the opportunity to talk to if we weren't rocking this road with Jane. And I'm sure there's lots of other reasons why she was faithfully and wonderfully made, but to me, that was kind of my top ones.

30:46 · Speaker 1 When we were chatting this through the first time, there was probably a little bit of apprehensiveness because you said, Chris, I don't know I have all this totally worked out and neatly wrapped up in my own mind and all the answers and all the boxes ticked. There are, if I'm being honest, things that I really struggle with here and questions that I have. Is that okay? Is what you said to me. Is that okay for me to articulate? And I think very much that is. So would you maybe, yeah, bring everybody else just into that and into your journey with some of those questions would be really good for us to hear.

31:23 · Speaker 2 So we've read Psalm 139 this morning that paints this amazing picture of a God who knows us intimately, even our thoughts. The Psalm talks about us tenderly hemming us in to protect us and placing a hand of blessing upon us. How God has thoughts towards us, how the darkness can't hide us from him, how he's seen our frame being made. And from time to time the why question has slipped into my heart and mind. On one hand I fully believe all I've just said that Jane's life had purpose and meaning and that God has and will use him to glorify him. And ultimately, that's what's best for Jane. But yet, on the other hand, my heart wrestles with why. If God's seen her being created, why did he allow her to be formed with the difficulties that she had?

32:24 · Speaker 2 And then more recently, when she wasn't well, why does Jane, of all people, have to suffer? and my heart wrestled with the feeling that it just wasn't fair that Jane should have to suffer not that it would be fair that anybody would have to suffer obviously but for me and Jane why Jane why would Jane have to suffer and if I had any control at all I would never have chosen in that path for her. And so my heart and mind found it really hard to reconcile the God of Psalm 139 and the reality of what we were watching Jane go through.

33:12 · Speaker 1 So you've been probably thinking about those questions and working those through. I suppose what's the trajectory been with those? Where have those taken you? Where have you got to so far? I'm sure it's not a complete perfect picture, but where have you got to so far with this?

33:32 · Speaker 2 So during my teenage years, I remember being really impacted by someone saying, don't forget in the darkness what you've learned in the light. And I'm so thankful for the opportunity that I've had to think and talk this through with others over the years. Because unlike many who say God really spoke to them in the middle of their hard time, I can honestly say that for the nine weeks Jane was in hospital and the four weeks she was at home, I was finding it hard to read and to think and to process. Sometimes I was doing okay, and other times I just couldn't get past the feeling that this wasn't fair, and it was like I was having my own little internal quiet tantrum with God. So I'm glad I had the foundation and the backdrop of being able to think some of this through with people in home group and things like that. But in terms of answering my why questions now a few months on, my thoughts are a little bit more coherent, although I'm sure I still have a lot to learn. But God has been really gracious in helping me see things a little bit more clearly. And so I have two thoughts.

34:49 · Speaker 2 The first thought is that we are created in God's image. And that sense of justice and injustice, fairness and unfairness that we hold, is because that is also part of God's character. He defines what justice, equality, and fairness is. And he has given us that sense of justice as image bearers in this world. But even though the creator of God defines justice and equality, the Bible tells us that when Jesus came to earth, he didn't insist on fairness or justice for himself. In fact, he did the opposite. He entered into the injustice by burying our sins on the cross, not because he had to, but because he's the God of Psalm 139, and he wanted to make a way for us to know him. the Bible says that though he was God he did not think of equality with God something to cling to instead he gave up his divine privileges took the humble possession of a slave and was born as a human being when he appeared in human form he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal's death on the cross

36:15 · Speaker 2 there is so much about this fallen world that is unjust but the bible paints the picture of a savior he entered into that injustice with us in the most profound way and he did it because he's the god of psalm 139 he wanted us to have a way to have freedom from this sin and this fallenness and this brokenness Jesus didn't cling to equality and fairness but allowed himself to be limited by an earthly body and suffer the injustice he hasn't left us alone with our pain but he's made a way for all he's made a way for one day all to be made new my second thought has been that I'm very thankful for the honesty of the Bible in showing me that I'm not alone with my why questions. I'm not alone with my wrestle between believing that God's glory and blessing can be seen all over Jane's life and at the same time find the reality of this fallen world something that is hard to reconcile and to accept. As I read the Psalms of Lament, the book of Job, and I even see Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane, it makes me wonder that perhaps it's okay in my humanness to feel this pain acutely at times. It's not something I need to feel guilty about or ashamed of. And like so many of the Psalms and Job and Jesus, I'm thankful for the times when through God's grace I can say, I trust you.

38:03 · Speaker 2 I can't understand. I can't see it clearly yet but I trust you I want your will not mine because you are the God of Psalm 139 and you are the saviour who entered fully into our struggles and the injustice of this fallen world

38:28 · Speaker 1 thanks for your honesty with that and talking us through that I was, you'd sent me through your notes a couple of weeks back, and then after that I was listening to an interview that John Lennox did with a YouTuber, a guy called Alex O'Connor, and it centered in towards the end of the interview on this question of evil and suffering. And funnily, John didn't try and explain this away perfectly, but basically talked in a way that you did there about, and offered this, not an answer, but a response in terms of here's a God who enters into our suffering with us. And I thought, well, Louise got there before him. I think the interview was recorded before that, but you get the idea. So you're on the same lines, which is lovely to hear as you think those things through. Okay. We are coming towards the end of our conversation, but one big thing in these conversations are songs. The psalm is a song of course, but we also ask each person to actually choose a song for us to respond with in worship and you're going to tell us about a couple of songs actually, but explain to us the song that we're going to sing and the other one that's meant so much to you as well.

39:46 · Speaker 2 So there's two songs that really helped me. The first was by an artist called Cochrane& Co. and it's called One Day. I'd never heard of the artist or the song but one day on my drive to work near the start of Jane's most recent set of hospital admissions, my Spotify DJ thought I needed to hear it. So I've played it on repeat on my drives to and from the Royal during that time and it became a bit of an anthem for me. So I feel need to mention that's here and encourages to go home and look it up. It's One Day by Cochrane& Co.

40:21 · Speaker 1 It's good that God can use AI. Yeah, I know. To find stuff in the right direction.

40:27 · Speaker 2 But the second song is an old song that I've never heard sung here at Glen Abbey before, but my mum and Jane used to sing this regularly, and it's called What a Day That Will Be. And I've asked Chris to read the chorus to us because I know I won't be able to get the words out.

40:43 · Speaker 1 Louise said she's tried a number of times to read this start to finish, and she can't. So this isn't the song that we sung here before, I think. I was saying at first service, Andy Harris, who was part of Bally Creek, as well said this was a classic in Bally Creek. So it's great to be able to sing it with you this morning. This is what the chorus says. What a day that will be when my Jesus I shall see, when I look upon his face, the one who saved me by his grace, When he takes me by his hand and leads me to the promised land, what a day, a glorious day that will be.

41:18 · Speaker 2 I suppose that's particularly precious because seeing and walking, seeing and walking are two of the things that Jane couldn't do here on earth. And so it brings us so much comfort to know that that story will be different in heaven and that the God of Psalm 139 has made that possible for her. But I have two other thoughts about the song, if you'll bear with me and then I'll be quiet. But in the first verse of that song, it talks about no more heartaches shall come. And Jane's story of disability and Neil and Sharon's story of her cancer journey and Corey's story of her beautiful brother Joe have been about the physical limitations of our bodies and the heartache that that brings. But I'm aware that for many here, your heartache might not be to do with physical illness. And your heartache can maybe never be talked about openly like this.

42:31 · Speaker 2 Perhaps your struggle is with mental health or addiction. or perhaps it's interpersonal where there has been pain and hurt in relationships. There's been a relationship breakdown or estrangement or mistreatment or abuse. Perhaps for you, your story and your heartache is one of abandonment or rejection or betrayal. Perhaps your heartache is to do with racism or socioeconomic injustice. but my thought for you today if you're a believer is that God knows and he sees he sees the heartache he sees the pain and he's made a way for all this heartache to be made new God's helped me to be able to look back and see the Savior he entered into our pain and he's helping me little by little to look forward to the day that is coming. This life is a vapor and our saviour understands and in a real and tangible way he knows.

43:47 · Speaker 2 And so he's saying to me today and perhaps to you too, hold tight. The best is yet to come. And then my final thought as I've been thinking about today is that perhaps for some listening today your heartache is the barrier that's been stopping you from believing in Jesus as your saviour. That question of why would a loving God allow and then you put your heartache at the end of that question and it hurts. And perhaps you feel the anger and you feel the pain because your heartache, just like mine, felt very, very unjust. And like me, it's hard for you to reconcile the picture of a loving God and the pain that you're holding in your heart. And this morning I'd love to, if you'll allow me, to gently ask you to look again with fresh eyes at the God of Psalm 139, just like I have had to do. Jesus has entered into that injustice with us.

44:57 · Speaker 2 And there's coming a day when this will all be made right. And Jesus has made that possible. The loving God of Psalm 139 has entered into our pain and made a way for all to be made new. And what a day, glorious day, that will be.

45:17 · Speaker 1 Amen. Louise, thank you. I really appreciate you getting up here twice to do this. And I'm sure everybody here will say exactly the same. We've done quite well for time because I was saying one of the things that you commented on at the funeral about Jane was whenever somebody was droning on at the front in church that she might say very loudly at the back to basically say, get on with it, hurry up, get off. Big yawn. Don't get any ideas. But it's great that we've been able to, I think our timing would have been good for her as well.

45:53 · Speaker 1 So really appreciate it. Thank you so much. I'm going to pray. Now I'm going to invite the band to come back out from behind that curtain and we'll sing this together. So let's pray together as we close. Father, thank you for Louise's story. Thank you for Jane's story. And thank you for all that we have learned about you and your goodness this morning and all that we have learned about value and purpose and dignity and worth in your kingdom.

46:28 · Speaker 1 Help us to grasp that in our hearts as we reflect on Jane's story. We thank you for her. We thank you for the impact her life had and the impact her life and her story and her legacy continues to have. By your spirit today, encourage our hearts with the truth of your word combined with the beauty of Jane's story. Help us to grasp how much we are loved and how much we are accepted and help us to live our lives out of that well of love and acceptance. May we be that little bit more like Jane, people who are able to be the same with all people in all circumstances because we can rest in our identity in knowing that we are yours. And we ask all this in Jesus' name, the one who makes it all possible. Amen.

47:43 · Speaker 1 Amen.