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The Rev. Frank
Logue
Nothing Lost We are an Easter people. We live knowing the power of the resurrection. That power of the resurrection which gives us the voice to sing “Alleluia” even at the grave. So as Christians, we gather on this occasion for mourning and loss and I pray that you will find here some joy. Yes, joy. Joy in remembering Anna Strong, Andee. She was and is such a unique person that we can not remember her without that remembrance bringing some joy. For Andee was interested in everything and interesting to most everyone who met her. The word “avid” came up a lot when discussing Andee with family and friends. Someone would say she was an avid reader and give examples of engaging discussions on books. Another person would say she was an avid gardener, yet another would say an avid traveler and so on. It was all true. This is because Andee was avid, living her life to the fullest, getting involved. That involvement ranged from the Wilmington Garden Club which gave Andee joy, to being fully involved in a bridge game, not just playing, but playing for the grand slam and getting it. Her involvement in theater was a lifelong love. A friend here in Savannah remembered that she was always going to little theater productions and finding someone to go with her. She could appreciate the productions for Andee worked hard through the years both backstage and as an accomplished actress. She threw her self in to demanding roles like the mother in the Glass Menagerie, Rosemary in Picnic, Regina in Little Foxes and excelled in those roles. Andee proved an able first mate on the And Wee II, a 44-foot yawl. They would cut through the water between Florida and the Bahamas and beyond, her (then) husband Pat at the helm and their kids for a crew. Andee was at her best in planning these trips flawlessly, along with the other camping trips and travel the family did together. Everything they needed was there. Andee did not miss a beat as she prepared for the trips. Yet there was always room for improvisation as Andee could cut limes off a tree and make Key Lime pie for supper. Or as her son Pat recalls, she could cook an amazing pineapple upside down cake on a two-burner alcohol stove. But this last feat was due more to Andee’s abilities as a cook. She could eat a meal in a restaurant and then go home to make the same meal without a recipe. Andee picked up recipes wherever she went and played with what she found, like making a pink potato salad which used paprika instead of pickles for a unique color and taste. But with that flair for the extraordinary, she did not lose sight of the basics. Like teaching Girl Scouts in Lubbock Texas how to set a proper table, including which utensils to use with which course when laying out a full setting for a multi-course meal. Yes, Andee was a real southern lady with her own sense of style. The sort of southern lady who could make any occasion special and special occasions truly memorable. Her youngest son, Chris, remembers that his Mom never forgot any occasion no matter how small. Wherever the family would be on a camping trip or at sea, birthdays and even minor holidays were made special. Her daughter Paige recalls one Valentine’s Day that boxes arrived throughout the day with each child’s name on it. Her mom had spread the love of Valentine’s through the day. That was so very Andee to let her family know how much she cared for them. She also wrote lyrics to a special song for each of her grandchildren, like Aziel’s song to the tune of Edelweiss. She had such a special place in her heart for her namesake granddaughter Anna (who suffers of Cerebral Palsy), that she wants the two of them to be buried together. Andee loved deeply. Andee loved Savannah. She loved her long-haired dachshunds Gazena and Schroeder. Andee loved her friends and she loved her family very much. It is Andee’s joy in life and her love of those around her that we gather to celebrate today knowing that the God who lovingly created Anna Strong is with her still. For those unique traits I have extolled this afternoon all flow from that source of all life and love who has given Andee an end to the declining life she had in the past year or so, to rise to a new life immortal.
Andee's venture in this earthly garden has ended. Andee died with her family gathered close by. An Episcopal priest prayed the last rites together with the family and then they stayed gathered round and within the hour, Andee had passed from this life on to the life of the world to come. The life after death that is Andee’s is why the Prophet Isaiah promise a garland instead of ashes and the oil of gladness in place of mourning. The promise of eternal life was also what we saw pictured so well in our reading from the Revelation to John in which those who have been raised to eternal life form a great multitude of people too numerous to count. And in that number is Anna Strong. For as Jesus said in our reading from John’s Gospel, “This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day.” Nothing lost. That can be hard to imagine when gathering together to mourn for a wonderful mother, grandmother, or friend who has died. How can nothing be lost if Andee is no longer with us? Yet there is a great Truth in this idea that nothing is lost, especially in death. For the unique woman who was Anna is now with God. And there will come a time when you, the faithful, will be with Andee again and with God. The Bible tells of a great banquet with God and all the saints present in Heaven. The prophet Isaiah describes the mystical supper like this: The LORD of hosts will prepare a lavish banquet for all peoples on this mountain; A banquet of aged wine, choice pieces with marrow, And refined, aged wine. And on this mountain He will swallow up the covering which is over all peoples, Even the veil which is stretched over all nations. He will swallow up death for all time, And the Lord GOD will wipe tears away from all faces. (Isaiah 25:6-8a) A lavish banquet, with good food and drink and the best of company. Can’t you picture Andee there. In fact can you picture that scene without Andee? No way. The only problem is that I can’t picture that scene without seeing Andee working to organize the whole meal. A lavish banquet for billions of people. No problem. Andee would only need a two-burner alcohol stove and she could pull the whole event off on the beach if need be. So yes, I can see Andee partaking in that heavenly banquet of the age to come. That time of being fully present to God in Heaven is something we can tap into here and now. For we are not here merely to remember Andee’s life and commend her to God. We are also here to worship that same God who remains with those we know and love who have died. So it is fully appropriate to talk to God about Andee as we do in the prayers of this Burial Office today. We talk to God and trust God with her very soul, knowing that nothing has been lost. Andee remains in eternal life with her loving creator. And in the meantime, we gather to laugh at memories of a unique woman, to cry in very real mourning, and we join together in a foretaste of that heavenly banquet. Our service will continue with prayers and then an opportunity for you to come forward to receive the bread and wine of communion. The same communion in which Andee took part when she was alive, the same communion we will continue with her at the heavenly banquet. No matter what your denominational background, I highly encourage all Christians to come forward to receive the elements of communion. For in doing so, you are drawn into the very communion with God which is where Anna Strong now rests. And nothing is lost. Amen.
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One
expression of Andee's faith is found in a prayer she wrote for the Wilmington
Garden Club:
