A Memorial Reflection - Connie Sue Lynch October 28, 1946 – July 3, 2023

 

A Memorial Reflection

Connie Sue Lynch

October 28, 1946 – July 3, 2023

 

Plans

Connie was a planner. She loved to make plans. Plans for Easter Celebrations with all her “kids” of the family. Plans for Christmas Plays. Plans for Childrens Choirs. Plans for Sunday School, teaching young children the love of God in Christ Jesus. Plans for Travel Groups. Plans… plans… plans.

Connie loved to schedule also. Most of her plans were inspired by God. Some of her plans could be manipulative. I fell into a few of those plans as well. Happening upon a visit to Mom and Dad’s house, suddenly I was involved in one of Connie’s plans and found myself putting badges together for some MacIS convention that Connie was planning for her job at the time.

Sometimes her plans were intrusive as well. On the guise of helping, Connie might just invade your home to give you help you didn’t want or ask for her to give.

Most of Connie’s plans came from a pure heart of giving.

One time, I recall a visit to see Mom. When I walked into the living room, all I heard was, “You make your plans and I’ll make mine!” Connie had apparently tried to plan something involving my mom and Mom would have nothing of it! And Mom let Connie know, loud and clear. My Mom had a direct way of stating things in a no uncertain term kind of way.

Well, I just slinked on by that conversation in the Living Room and went into the Family Room until all the ruckus died down. Connie left the house mad. Mom stayed mad. I kept quiet and didn’t poke a stick into that hornets’ nest!

During one of the last visits I had with Connie, as she was suffering from dementia, I stumbled upon one of Connie’s planning sessions. As she suffered from dementia, I knew that I must leave my world and try to figure out what world Connie was in, and join her in her own world.

It became apparent to me that Connie was on one of her Cruise Ship adventures and she was the group leader. Connie kept telling me how she couldn’t get this group to cooperate and move along to whatever the next activity was to be. Connie was really upset and mad with these people. So, I tried to guide the conversation towards something different. Connie was upset! Well, that didn’t work either. You see, things weren’t going according to the plan Connie had laid out for this Cruise Group she was leading. On and on she went about this boat and these people and she kept getting madder and madder about how her planning was all falling apart, until, until, someone crapped (I chose a different word than Connie used) in the boat! And then I heard about this “crap” for such a long time, I decided it was time to cut this off and made some excuse about having to go home to do something, like let the dogs out.

Needless to say, my plan for a nice visit with Connie failed. And Connie’s plan for these Cruise Ship people failed as well.

The night after Connie died, I couldn’t sleep a wink. I just kept thinking about plans. I knew Connie was an excellent planner, but realized how all plans never go as planned. There is always some wrinkle in the plan. And then I started thinking about how many times “we” have messed up God’s plan for all creation.

God created… and everything was good. Look back at Genesis chapter one and see for yourself. God saw good in what he created.

And then…

Humans “crapped” in the boat.

Adam and Eve decide to believe that they could become like God and know good and evil.

Along come Cain and Abel. Men bringing offerings to God. God likes Abel’s offering. Cain gets jealous and kills Abel. “Crap in the boat!”

We humans have a way about us to make a mess of things. We sin and turn from God and attempt to wrestle control from God to the point that God felt the need to clean house.

Genesis 6:7 ESV

So the Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.”

But God has a plan. A much better plan than I could have, or you could have, or Connie could have, or anyone could have. And then the Great Flood. A do over for God’s sinful creatures. A second chance at this thing. A second chance but not the last chance.

And what do humans do with this new plan? Crap in the boat! Noah gets drunk and his son’s have to cover for his shame.

On and on it goes. Tower of Babel. We think we can reach the heavens. Oh, how great we think we are to be able to reach God. Well… “Crap in the boat!”

I’m not even halfway through the book of Genesis yet and still plans are upset and ruined all along. Need I keep this going, with Abraham and Sarah, Jacob and Esau, Joseph and the mess he was in and created as well? On along to Moses and Pharoah. The escape and all the wandering around in the wilderness. Even after crossing the Jordan into the Promised Land, sin creates a mess of plans and there is “Crap in the Boat!”

God keeps on forgiving, warning, working with us to get us to turn to him, to confess our sin and to see what a perfect plan he has in place all along. But Noooo! We continue to “Crap in the Boat” and ruin the plan God has for us, because we think we have a better plan.

Well, we don’t! God has had a plan all along for our “Crap in the Boat.” Our sinfulness, is taken care of in a perfect way through a perfect plan, way beyond any plan we think we have for ourselves.

God deals with our “Crap in the Boat,” in that he takes our sin into and upon himself, and puts it all to death, giving to us his cleanliness, his righteousness, his forgiveness of all of our “crappy,” sinful behavior, once and for all time. Once and finally. And God means it!

John 19:30 ESV

When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

The power of sin is finished! Forever!

God comes into our world, and invades our plan, to defeat the power of sin, from which we cannot free ourselves, and gives us new life with him forever in paradise, and finally in a resurrection from the dead on the last day.

So, there you have it. Sure, we still sin in this world. We sin every day. But the power of that sin is gone for good. As we turn to God each day, as we relive our baptism each and every morning, God drowns our sin and raises us to new life in him, that we may go forth in joy to serve God, to love all those God gives to us each day, to make our lousy plans that will probably fail, but just might succeed to make a wonderful gift of love in Easter Parties, Christmas Plays, Helpful hands to those in need. God uses us flawed disciples for something good, even as we continue to “Crap in the Boat.” All because God has freed us from the power of sin, death and evil.

Somehow, I see Connie together with Mom and Dad and Jesus, planning the most wonderful Easter Resurrection Party of all time and eternity, together with all the saints in Paradise.

Rest in Peace Connie… I’ll see you soon to join in THE One and only Plan of all eternity.