In Memory

Marilyn Dorothy Hunter Nenning
December 4, 1934- April 9, 2008

One of the first things you noticed when you saw my mom were her hands;they were so crippled, but yet she used them to produce so many beautiful things. She was a gifted artist, seamstress, carpenter-you name it. She could make anything and her work was more beautiful than any I've seen elsewhere-every piece. But, above all she made with her hands, she used them to serve others. That was what mom's life was about. People mattered to mom. Her service to others was driven by love. This was her greatest gift and a gift to us all. Jesus tells us in the Bible the two greatest commandments are about love. In Mark 12:30-31, He commands us to, " love the Lord your God with all of your heart, and with all of your soul and with all of your mind and with all of your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There are no greater commandments than these." The apostle Paul tells us in his letter to the Galatians (5:22), that the fruit of a life filled with the spirit is love~ it is also joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Those who knew my mom, know how fully she could love, how fully she could be joyful and have peace despite her circumstances. She was patient to teach, kind, good, faithful,gentle and self-controlled. She had so many other gifts-the gifts of encouragement, teaching and wisdom. She found great joy in mentoring those of us who needed an example of what these qualities should look like lived-out before us. She lived a long time with physical pain and yet persevered to take care of all of the people that the Lord had placed on her heart. We hear in Hebrews 10:36, that "you need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will received what He has promised.

She wanted to be here (Glencare) with you all. She felt that she had a purpose to build relationships with each of you and to give you her love, encouragement, and life. She did not grow weary of doing good (Galatians 6:9). My husband recently paid me a very sweet compliment and I wanted to share it with you all because it is a beautiful reflection of my mother. He said to me, "You are the best mother (to our children) I have ever seen." That is because of her. She has given me so much and will continue to give for many, many years because of the example she lived. I would love to share with any of you who wish, the many specific, wonderful things she has done and the adventures we have shared! I have been encouraged in the past week by Paul's writing to the church in Ephesus in his prayer to the Ephesians in Ephesians 3:16-19. "I pray that out of His glorious riches He will strengthen you will power through His spirit in your inner being, So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints to know this love that surpasses knowledge-that you may be filled to the measure with all the fullness of God."

I believe that she is now enjoying her glorified body and reaping the rewards that our Lord has for her. Let me share with you what Paul tells us of the Resurrection body in 1: Corinthians 15: 42-58

The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable;it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory, it is sown in weakness,it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. So it is written: "The first man Adam became a living being, the last Adam, a life giving spirit. The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that, the spiritual. The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven. As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth ;and is the man from heaven. And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven. I declare to you brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God,nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will be changed-in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true : "Death has been swallowed-up in victory.

Where , O death,is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?"

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

Her labor was not in vain, I believe the Lord has said to her, "Well done good and faithful servant-please rest with me and join me at my banquet table."

Romans 12:12

Be joyful in hope
Patient in affliction
faithful in prayer

Our God is a God of immeasurable love and of hope. Romans 10:9&10

Thank you all for the love you have shown to her and to our family-
May God bless you

* from memorial service at Glencare in Warsaw, NC
April 12, 2008