Marilyn

1 Thessalonians 1:3 We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Marilyn Cline was a wonderful woman and an exceptional Christian. Both she and her husband suffered from MS and despite years of discomfort, pain and physical torment they managed to raise a family, work at university, and support the church for many years. When Marilyn was widowed, she didn't go into reclusion, instead she continued to do the work at church, which she and her husband has been doing together.

 

I remember one year, when we found it difficult to get senior people volunteer to be elders at Erin. We needed their wisdom and experience, but because our elders play a large profile in the leadership of the church, some seniors were reticent about answering “yes” to being an elder for three years. As we came down to the wire, Marilyn got to hear about the fix we were in. Physically, she was a bit weaker than usual, but she got around with her walker. She volunteered to be an elder, even although she knew that coming to two evening meetings per month and leading committees would physically be grueling. She became an elder in order to show some of her peers that disability was no excuse from taking on the reins of leadership. In her own way, she was also showing them that age or retirement needn't be barriers either.

 

As only Marilyn could, she excelled as an elder, becoming a great example to the congregation and, funnily enough, to the young adults in our congregation. Many of them became elders over the next couple of years because they had seen what Marilyn could achieve. We were very blessed to have her amongst us and when she died, many people, old and young, came to the funeral to pay their respects.

 

Perhaps you are wondering what You could be doing for the Lord in your church; perhaps someone has asked you to take a leadership role and you have your doubts. Pray about the invitation and ask yourself this question: am I being asked to do this for the church, or is God calling me to do something beautiful for Him?

 

Prayer: Lord, You are the source of all our faith, hope and love. You have led us from the fields of sin into Your church on earth. Empower us to do Your will and enable us to respond positively to the requests that are made upon to help, lead and give to the life, work and ministry of our congregation. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. Amen