And Flights of Angels

I said goodbye to a friend today. I first knew Sherry Jeffords Brandmahl as the "cool older girl" in our folk group. We were both raised in the same church, Westhampton United Methodist. Sherry's mother, Beth Jeffords, was my very first choir director, Cherub Choir, I was 3. You had to be in Middle School to be in the folk group, and I was thrilled when I got to sing with the "big kids." I remember thinking how pretty Sherry was, long blond hair and these huge dark eyes and a voice like an angel. Sherry was older than me, so I didn't really hang around with her. I was too little. I did not know at the time, but years later we would meet again and embark on a journey filled with lots of highs and a few lows but a great friendship. I met up with Sherry again in my 20's. We were, again, attending the same church, Discovery United Methodist Church. My husband at the time was the music director, and Sherry was in the choir. The church had 3 services back to back. I always felt like the 8:30 service got cheated on music, so I started a group called "The 8:30 Girls." It was a quartet. I was singing Soprano along with another friend, Janet, and two ladies needed to sing the lower alto parts. I knew I wanted to ask Sherry. She was always a great alto. She agreed, and the group was formed, Me, Janet, Debbie and Sherry. We started practicing, and soon we had quite a repertoire. One Sunday came, and "The 8:30 Girls" were singing at an outdoor service. It was a bright, sunny morning, and all of us wore sunglasses. From that morning on we were known as Shades of Faith. Something special happens when you sing with a group of people. You are creating a sound together. We had rehearsals sometimes where we laughed more than we sang. I loved those days! I was lucky enough to be in two groups with Sherry. In addition to Shades, we were both in a group called Messenger. My Ex was the lead singer, Sherry's brother, Billy, played drums, our associate pastor, Dan, played keyboards and guitar, and 3 ladies sang tight, back-up harmony. Sherry was, you guessed it, our alto. If there was ever a group that could have gone somewhere, it was Messenger. As it often does, life had other plans. At the height of Messenger's journey my husband left me and the church, and just like that, it was over. That brings me to one of my favorite memories of Sherry. My marriage didn't break up in the most amicable way. I came home to an empty house, and I was reeling. I called Dan, and he called Sherry and Bill to come to church so we could break the news. Sherry and Bill came right over. They were right there for me, and Sherry continued to be there for me. She helped me through some of the toughest years of my life. We had long talks. I always knew she was on my side. The last time I saw Sherry was a couple of years ago. She had come with her parents and sister to see a show I was in. I saw them after the show, and Sherry hadn't changed a bit, just as beautiful as ever. Cancer took Sherry away from us last Friday, and today I attended her Standing Room Only funeral. Obviously Sherry touched many lives besides mine. I listened as a good friend of ours, Sandra Bottoms, led a beautiful service. I listened to our dear friend, Donald Coles, sing a song Sherry requested when she knew her path was taking its final turn. It was a comforting song. Just like Sherry to try to comfort me even in her passing. Good bye, sweet friend.

Is Your Tomb Empty?

I sat in church on Easter Sunday, just 2 days ago, and listened to the anthem the choir sang, He Is Not Here. The lyrics are: "He is not here, He is risen. See the tomb is empty where He lay." See the tomb is empty. Tomb is defined as “an enclosure for a corpse cut in the earth or rock.” Not something that is made for escape or exiting. Why would they be made that way? The person in the tomb will not be waking or walking. They are dead. When Mary went to the tomb early that Easter morning, Jesus had been dead since about 3pm on Friday. There was no room for speculation that Jesus might have been alive when He was placed in the tomb, but even if that was the case he was buried for more than a day. When Mary went to the tomb it was empty. That would be the same as if we had buried a loved one and went back to the graveside 2 days after the funeral, and the casket had been unearthed and lay open with no one in it. Pretty freaky stuff. I can’t imagine what I would think or feel. I’m sure my first thought would be the same as Mary’s. Someone has taken the body. Mary couldn’t celebrate the empty tomb. She was too close. She couldn’t see the miracle. We have that privilege. Do we celebrate, though? We may celebrate that Jesus is alive, but that tomb. Jesus conquered death for our freedom but not just spiritual freedom. We fill the tomb over and over again with worry and doubt, hate and fear, self-loathing and mistrust. We cannot celebrate. We can’t even get inside the tomb to see that it’s empty. We are free, if we let ourselves be. His tomb was empty. Let yours be too.