Beauty from Ashes

On Friday, June 20, at 9:15pm, the breath of Bertie Eva Burke left her worn-out body, which will be laid to rest until the Final Resurrection, when her body and soul will be reunited in New Life.

Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord

Bertie was born on Christmas Day, 100 years ago, and spent most of her life in and around St. Louis. The details of her life appear more like a sordid soap opera than those of a faithful Christian, yet in spite of her sins and weaknesses, it was evident that that Lord remained faithful to her throughout the years.

Bertie gave birth to her first child at age 19, and was never married to the father of her 4 other children because he already had a wife with whom he lived on an adjacent farm. A wife, I might add, who remained and served humbly by his side until his death. Bertie and her children were often scorned and ridiculed by neighbors, and she eventually left rural southeast Missouri for the city, where she served as cook and housekeeper for a wealthy family in the Central West End. When she was 48 years old, and still living in STL, she entered nursing school, then spent many years after graduation practicing what she had learned. It was during these years that she began to really know the Lord and to love His Word. As a teen, my mother, they baby of the 5 children, joined my grandma in the city and, with her encouragement, began attending Bible Club where she too began to seek the Lord in earnest and to be acquainted with the Holy Scriptures.

In spite of her trust in Christ, throughout her whole life, my grandma never did learn to live peaceably in the same household with another human being; however, I do remember being hospitably received in her home, where she never failed to cook us a special feast and she allowed us to play in her bedroom with her jewelry and other trinkets which we found fascinating. She taught me to crochet and she was a master quilter...you know, the old-fashioned kind who did it all by hand!

Bertie repeatedly failed at marriage and her attempts at parenting were often severely lacking, resulting in years of pain and struggle for her children. The trials which flowed from their "flawed" beginning left them ill-equipped at various junctures of their lives, and led to subsequent failures on their part. Yet on account of God's faithfulness, all 5 of her children confess Christ and desire to know, understand and love His Word.

This is why some of my mother's favorite passages from Scripture are those which contain the words "BUT GOD..." These outline the multitude of situations which, as a result of man's distorted affections, led to grave human sin, error, and heartache, over against which is highlighted the triumphant grace of God - those circumstances in which it is obvious that only the Lord's intervention could redeem such loss and bring such beauty from ashes. In this I rejoice and hope, thanking God for my Grandma's life.

He that raised up Jesus from the dead will also quicken our mortal bodies, by his Spirit that dwelleth in us. Wherefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope. Thou shalt shew me the path of life; in thy presence is fullness of joy, and at thy right hand there is pleasure forevermore.