My mother doesn’t realize it, but she is actually guest-blogging for us today. I received a wonderful accounting from her of Darryl Regehr’s funeral and his last days and was so blessed by it that I couldn’t bear to keep it to myself. So here is the first blog post by Irene McHone. I will tag a few thoughts at the end.
I thought you might want to hear about some of the things that we experienced here in Mt. Lake. Friday night we went to the funeral home for the viewing. I could hardly believe all of the beautiful flowers. Liz, Darren and Sharla along with other family members seemed to be more concerned about everyone else than themselves. Darryl would have liked that.
The funeral was a celebration of what God can do with a life that was focused on Him. The service started with the congregation lustily singing “When we all get to Heaven” That was followed with readings from I Peter 4:12-13, verses from Romans 8 and Psalm 73:21-28. After several family members shared memories and the song “I’ll Fly Away”, Darren Regehr came up.
Darren spoke about the different relationships that Darryl had. Darren seems to have the same sense of humor that Darryl had. He jokingly said “Some of you are here because of the relationship you had with my dad and others of you have come for the food that will be served afterwards.” That along with a few other comments brought a chuckle from us. After speaking about less important relationships, starting with business, friends, family, children and wife, Darren came to the heart of his sermon. He talked about the most important relationship – that which was eternal – with God.
He read Romans 3:23 and Romans 10:9-10. He challenged each person to examine themselves. Darren said that a true relationship with God WILL radically change your life. Darren told us that when his Dad was admitted into Hospice ,which was a Catholic run, Darryl was asked if he was a Christian. Darryl’s response was “Yes, Jesus is my Savior, I have a relationship with God. Then he asked, “How about you, how is your relationship with God?” The answer was, “My parents are Christians so I suppose I am too” Darryl told his family that he had work to do there in the Hospice – meaning he needed to speak more with that person. Other visitors that came in were witnessed to also, including his next door neighbor, that came the day before Darryl died.
Darryl got so worn out that he told Liz that Darren would have to talk to them more because he was too exhausted to talk any more. Darren challenged each one of us to examine where our relationship with God stood. He used the analogy of marriage to challenge us: “Some of you have married (Christ) and are living like a single person. And some of you are living as if you are married and have never taken the vow (committed your life to Him).” Darren ended by saying “We know that Dad is in heaven having a relationship with God. How about you do you have a relationship with God?”
The service ended with a video of different pictures of Darren’s life while the songs “I Can Only Imagine” and “That’s when I’ll know I’m Home” by Geff Moore” was played. At the very end we listened to a song that Liz heard on the radio as she was returning to Hospice after the call had come that Darryl had had a heart attack, “This is How It Feels to be Free” by Phillips, Craig & Dean. Liz later told us that she felt the Lord preparing her as she drove that Darryl would be with the Lord.
The graveside service was very brief with only verses from scripture that speak of our eternal hope because of Jesus. In the evening we all went out to the farm where we all have so many memories and had a soup supper and visiting. What a day of tears and joy all mixed up in one.
Back to Doug from this point to the end of the post.
I did mention earlier that Darryl had his doubts during these final days, which was the report I received. I do believe this was true, even though Darryl never truly wavered. The enemy is quite good at inserting doubt when you are weak. Darryl could very well have used the times when he witnessed to the nurses in the hospice to iron out his own fears with the solid message of the gospel. Yes, witnessing to others can be seen as an opportunity to confront your own doubts.
Mark 2:17
And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.â€
Christ came to save those who realize their own failings, effectively eliminating the evil notion that you should clean up your act before coming to Him. By the same token, if you are in doubt, you are not dismissed from your Christian duty to evangelize to others. The sick are made well by the great physician and the unsure are made sure through their obedience to the mandate to make disciples. I am not saying that those who teach a false gospel should be spreading their message, but that those who believe in the true gospel but are under attack can be strengthened by the spiritual excercise of witnessing to others.
Any thoughts on this matter?
Thanks Doug. And thanks, Doris. Don Regehr brought back much the same message and relayed it to us on Sunday morning in Rochester. We’d prayed not only for Darryl, but for his family and his witness to Christ. May all praise be to the Father for these answered prayers.
I was also sorrowful, yet rejoicing to hear of Jim Berggren’s passing. My dad & mom have known the Berggrens for many years, Jim was the chairman when I interned at the EFC in Polk City and was a great source of encouragement to a young man entering the ministry. I trust his memorial service was a Christ-exalting time too.
A dear friend, part of my congregation, was notified Tuesday that his spindle-cell melonoma has returned. Bill’s call to me was essentially to say he’d most likely be home with the Lord before year’s end. And yet his trust has never been stronger and his boldness for Christ’s sake never better. God makes a way and we love Him for that.
Kevin,
I had forgotten that you would know Jim. I’m sorry I didn’t give you more information about his condition. Had I connected the dots better, I would have.
Also, I corrected who I credited the writing to. It was my mother, not my grandmother. She must have sent this on my grandmother’s e-mail for me to have made this error.