Today marks 2 years since we lost my wonderful sister, Mary, to cancer. She was wonderful, but she was still a sinner in need of a Savior, and today, because of that Savior she trusted in and loved, she lives even though she died. We KNOW that because of Jesus’ promise:
Jesus said to her,
“I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die—ever.
Do you believe this?”
John 11:25-26
Mary was such an extraordinary friend to everyone who knew her. Her closest friends, her children, her family, her husband (Eric Schneider), and our whole extended family were so blessed to have her for as long as we did. In the last few weeks of Mary’s sojourn, inspired by her life and looking to somehow extend and celebrate her legacy, I started a short story about our family, starting with our Mom and Dad, and Mary as the first “chapters” in the story. It’s brief, biased, and the final product will be for our family only, but here are the first installments of our “family memoir.”
It is kind of a “Family Memoir” in the form of a “once upon a time” narration. It is a picture of how I see my brothers and sisters. Some might think it is hopelessly biased, but, as my wife tells others, “The Schoenleber siblings are extraordinarily close.” The introduction and the section on Mary are below:
How I See You
A family story: a true tale
Like all great stories, this one happened once upon a time.
Oakford was a town of oaks, tall and majestic, and the people of Oakford were proud of the majesty that stood above them. The region of Feasterville was peopled with towns like Oakford. And in each one, everyone loved to eat. Food was a frequent center of conversation, and all the people of the region were thankful that God, in His wisdom and mercy, had created taste buds for the enjoyment of His people.
Unlike the trees that soared above them, they were mostly a small people, not too tall and a bit round, but filled with mirth and an abundance of native pride. No foods were better. No teams more noble or worthy of cheer. No land so gently entrancing as the rolling hills, forests, rocks, streams, and creeks as those in the fair and bountiful villages around the region called Bucks County, northeast of the great city of Philadelphia. The county was bordered on the east by the Delaware River, named after the Delaware Indians who once hunted the region.
The town of Oakford also had a secret. In it, there lived a wise and generous king and queen with five handsome princes and two beautiful princesses. Though they were king and queen, most of their neighbors were unaware of their noble birth, although there were rumors that “there is something special about that family.”
MARY
The firstborn daughter was molded in the queen’s image. The queen, you see, was beloved by all, for she was a servant to all her family and a lover of all her neighbors. And so, the beautiful princess and cherished daughter of the queen followed her lead and became, in time, the mirror of her mother. Mary, for so she was named, delighted in caring for others. Her grace with people seemed effortless to onlookers. She seemed to always know who needed an encouraging word or just a visit from a friend and was ever ready to run the errands that others couldn’t do for themselves. All who knew the princess were delighted in her presence and could speak no ill in all their memory of her friendship.
Her husband adored her, and her children bowed to her, and well they should because none was like her in all the realm. Indeed, her children suffered much in the sorrows and pains of their mother, for the princess was not immune to the travails of sickness that afflict many in this fallen world, where tears travel close by even in our joy. And yet, she battled well a sickness called cancer, and through every challenge, she became the model of a grace that eclipsed even the queen. Hers was a life of service and compassion that won her the goodwill of all and made her a keen observer of the foibles and sorrows of others. Princess Mary became what all princesses should be—kind, generous, compassionate, thankful for the life she had and the people she had opportunity to love. And love them, she did. People knew, they really knew, that she loved them and only wanted their best.
As the princess aged, her life took on new beauties. It was as if all the lessons of watching the queen were polished with new and glistening charms in her. Now, in her life’s later stages, as the sands of her time were beginning to fill the bottom of the hourglass, her mode of life moved in new streams of faith in a loving God and a renewed vision of the King of kings. She saw with greater clarity the beauty of the One who had sacrificed His life for her, and to all who knew her, they saw new glimpses of the Jesus she loved and served. Even in her last days, through the haze of her pain, her concern for the ones she would leave behind took on a fine point of focus. She would show us how to die in hope and enter His courts with praise. And so, she left us and was greeted by Glory.
It is not hard to imagine that on the day of the princess’s entrance into the dwellings of heaven, the High King told her parents, “Today, your oldest daughter arrives home.” The blue eyes of her father danced at the news, and he ran to tell all his friends. When the moment arrived, the crowd that was assembled erupted in thunderous applause for Mary and the High King of Heaven. Then, moments later, a hush fell over the crowd as Jesus approached the new arrival, and all bent forward to hear the King say, “Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your master.” Mary’s mother and father, the king and queen of Oakford, embraced their daughter in tearless joy and handed her two greatly loved infants, Bryer and Weston. Mary grasped them with wonder and joy, and the applause of heaven erupted once again, even louder than before, for the King and His newest arrival to the dwelling He had prepared for her.
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