My tribute to Mrs. Vivien

Ellen's mom went to be with the Lord last Tuesday morning at 12:22 am. This is what I shared at her wake the night before the funeral
I have a picture of Mrs. Vivien that will forever be in my mind. We were at the beach and she was sitting on the balcony. All around her were the sights, sounds and smells of everything she loved. The sun was beginning to set over the back bay and there was a cool breeze blowing off the coast. The sound of the water lapping against the shore and the smell of seafood cooking wafting through the condo. But even more important to her were the voices, the loud voices of all her children and grandchildren laughing and playing in the background. The picture that I will always remember was that of her smile. She just seemed to radiate with a beautiful smile. We thought then that we were going to lose Mrs. Vivien but the beach always brought out the best in her. God gave us five more months before He took her home.

Proverbs 2:1-8
The Benefits of Wisdom
1 My child,listen to what I say, and treasure my commands.
2 Tune your ears to wisdom, and concentrate on understanding.
3 Cry out for insight, and ask for understanding.
4 Search for them as you would for silver; seek them like hidden treasures.
5 Then you will understand what it means to fear the Lord,and you will gain knowledge of God.
6 For the Lord grants wisdom! From his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
7 He grants a treasure of common sense to the honest.
He is a shield to those who walk with integrity.
8 He guards the paths of the just
and protects those who are faithful to him.

I came to Bunkie over 20 plus years ago I was in pursuit of a beautiful young blond that would later become the love of my life. I was a young minister that thought he knew it all. There is a big difference between head knowledge and wisdom, intellect and understanding. It is one thing to know about something, it's another to really know it, experience it, and to live it. I knew family was important, but as I watched Mr C.A. and Mrs Vivien, they demonstrated it. I knew about God's love but through them I saw a living demonstration of what it means to love unconditionally. I knew about the importance of giving, but they gave. They gave their time, their love, their money and their very lives. Not just to family, but to this community and to the less fortunate. Jesus said when you have done it to the least of these you have done it to me. The poet Edgar Guest said it well.
Id rather see a sermon than hear one any day.
Id rather one should walk with me that merely tell me the way
The eye is a better pupil and more willing than the ear.
Fine counsel is confusing but example is always clear.
And the best of all the preachers are the ones who live their creeds for to see good put into action is what we all need.
The Voelkers were not paid clergy like me and Father Jack but they preached loud and clear what they believed by the way they chose to live their lives.

Mrs. Vivien was far from perfect. She had her own set of demons she fought with and we all have endured her scorn. I remember putting crabs and fish in her brand new watermelon looking ice chest and then leaving them there for a couple of days. That did not go over real well. But over a period of time I was able to work back into her good graces. Mrs Vivian and I shared a couple of passions together. She loved seafood as do I. There were many times we would sit down to eat boiled crabs or shrimp and after several hours it would be just the two of us left eating.
Mrs. Vivien loved her church, her family, her husband, but most importantly she loved her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
We often talked about the things she was learning. She was always growing in her faith.
Almost four years ago now the doctors told Mrs. Vivien that her kidneys were failing and if she didn't go on dialysis she would not make it six months. At about the same time we learned of a nun in Baton Rouge who had the gift of healing. So we made an appointment for her to go see Sister Dolce. I met Mrs. Vivien in in the driveway that afternoon after her visit with Sister Dolce because I wanted to hear about this woman's gift. She said she had a wonderful visit and that Sister Dolce was a wonderful lady. I asked, "But Mrs. Vivien are you healed?" Her reply was one that I will never forget. She said, "I don't know if I am healed or not but I do know this, I have and incredible sense that what ever happens it's going to be okay." Once again I was learning from Mrs. Vivien about true faith. The skeptics say where is your God? We can't see him how do you know he exists? True faith is not what you see with the eye but what you experience in your heart.
Hebrews 1 States
1 Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.
Mrs Vivian had every reason at that moment in in her life to be full of anger, anxiety, doubt, fear etc. but instead she had an over whelming peace. That peace came from her relationship with Jesus Christ. Jesus said in
John 14:1 “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. 2 There is more than enough room in my Father’s home.[a] If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? 3 When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. 4 And you know the way to where I am going.”
The Apostle Paul said to be absent from Christ is to be present with the Lord. A day before Mrs. Vivien went to be with the Lord she was staring off in what seemed to be space when Valerie called out, "Mom what do you see?", her response " I see Heaven".
The great preacher D.L. Moody on his death bed after being unconscious said earth recedes, Heaven opens before me Will (his son) Will this is no dream. It is beautiful it is like a trance. If this is death it is sweet. God is calling me and I must go. Several hours later for the last time he came to and said "Will I went to the gate of heaven it was wonderful and I saw the children Irene and Dwight."
Hours before Mrs. Vivien went to be with the Lord we gathered around her bed to pray. Someone said lets pray for Momma. As I began to pray I realized that I need the prayer not her. We are the ones who grieve we are the ones who have lost. We are the ones that need comfort. God of all comfort please comfort us in this time of great grief. In a time like this I am reminded of a quote about God that says
Thou art great and we are small
Thou art infinite and we are finite
Thou art everything and we are nothing
Thou art eternal and we tarry but for a while
but with all of thy power and all of thy greatness thou doest bend down low and listen to the sound of our tears as they strike the ground.

I am forever indebted to Mrs. Vivien for the many lessons of faith, life and love that she taught me.