A spiritual hero

On July 4th I received a call from friends in Maryland. They let me know that one of my spiritual heroes had gone home to be with the Lord. The family gave me the tremendous honor to do my friend Peggy Fagan's funeral. As I jumped on a plane and began to pray about what to share, the Lord began to flood my mind with memories from Peggy's life. She is one of my spiritual heroes because she taught me how to face adversity and uncertainty with great faith. During my time as the pastor of Germantown Baptist Church in Germantown, MD I routinely saw Peggy face the trials and tribulations with amazing faith. She taught me how much God can do in a person even when their circumstances are not what they want. The Lord led me to use 2 Corinthians 1:3-11 as the text that best described her life. Here are a few things the struck me as I thought about Peggy's life:

1. Her perspective was right. Her provider was always bigger than her problem. She reserved one word for God alone. The word "awesome" was only used when she was speaking of God.

2. Her perseverance was amazing. As her sister commented during the funeral: "She had cancer but cancer never had her!"

3. Her painful experiences were used to reach others for Christ. Every time she went to the hospital for treatments she always asked for prayer for her doctors and nurses...not for herself. She was determined to let her situation lead to the salvation of others.

4. Her prayer life was an amazing example. Peggy allowed God to wake her up every morning at 4am. Sometimes she would tell me, "I spoke to the Lord about you this morning". Those were always the times when my heart was heavy and God was using Peggy to help me through a difficult time.

I enjoyed meeting many of her friends at the funeral. Peggy was a true inspiration to many. After the graveside service I saw people from all walks of life, from various religions and countries. It was obvious that Peggy's life had a major influence on many people. She was instrumental in helping our church celebrate the ethnic diversity of over 30 different nations. I wish everyone I know could have witnessed the spontaneous worship that erupted after the graveside service was over. No one wanted to leave and we all worshipped the Lord for giving us such an amazing example of what God can do with a person's life.

I will miss Peggy but know God used her to help me face adversity with courage and conviction. The life lessons I learned through her are priceless! I only hope to be such an example to others.