I took a walk outside this morning. It’s been in the 70’s here in Jacksonville, N.C. Yet, I noted that the dry, withered trees were begging for spring. “They’ll bloom again,” I thought to myself, then my thoughts turned once again to the news we had just received last night. Our dear friend and sister in the Lord, Sister Enock Massillon had suddenly departed from this earth. She had gone out to the countryside to visit her ailing father and on her return had been involved in a terrible accident. The tap tap she was in collided with a bus and somehow a dump truck was involved as well. I walked and prayed with a heavy heart. Sister Enock’s husband is the head of our orchestra. Their son plays bass and his nephew plays lead guitar. Sister Enock sang in the choir and no one was more involved in the activities of the church than the Massillon family. She had just been assigned as one of our cooks for the new feeding program that was recently launched. Her salary was to be a welcome relief for the needs of her big family.

Death is a harsh reminder that life is temporary. It causes us to refocus our lens on life. Sister Enock’s works will follow her, even though her family is torn to shreds because of this devastating news. Her whole life was one of service, even up to her very last act. She was a true “mother in Israel” and probably one of the sweetest people I have ever met. Even though the sorrow I felt on my walk still lingers, I know this “tree” will bloom again. And this is the hope that keeps each of us putting one foot in front of the other. I hope you will remember the Massillon family in your heartfelt prayers today.