I am Bill Long. I preached at Cascade Heights (congregation in Atlanta, GA; MRH) from 1957 through 1961. I met Pat and her husband in 1960. They were a young couple, just starting out, I believe in a small upstairs apartment in Marietta. I taught them and baptized them into Christ. I have known very little about them for all these years.

Your works will follow you. Pat's works followed her, for her children are here, and are members of the church, having been taught by her.

�Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His Children�

This is a time to honor and celebrate the victory of a precious saint of God. When Jesus died, he said victoriously �It is finished�. That is what we�re here to do today.

Death Is A Natural Part Of Life.

God made us as �living souls� living in a body while on the earth. Death is the gateway into eternity and heaven.

Death is where our hope is.

I Corinthians 15:19, �If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.�

John 11:25, �I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies, and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.�

John 3:16-18, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."

John 14:1-6, "Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."

All of us struggle with not being good enough. We�re not. But That�s the value of our hope being in Jesus.

II Corinthians 4:18, �So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.�

We Have Precious Memories:

There has been a lot of pain and suffering because we�re living in sinful flesh. This is now the victory over all of that.

Mother (June), Sister (Sandra), Son (Marvin), Daughter (Mary), Grandchildren (April, Heather, Forrest), Friends, and Brethren: you have special memories.

This is a time to appreciate, rejoice, hope, and recommit.

I John 5:14, �This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith�

As Jesus said, �It is finished� in triumph, so we say now in behalf of Pat, �It is finished,� with a sense of victory.

Brother Bill, this may go against conventional wisdom, but isn�t that why we are able to be here in the first place?

I owe you the greatest debt of thanks. You, and men like you, are the reason I CAN stand here today, but you specifically, are the reason I AM standing here. I thank you especially for your love and concern; your willingness to drop everything, rearrange you schedule to be here for us, for me, today.

I don�t know that I have ever more than met you in passing. Yet, with the love you have shown me and mine, I can safely say no man could have a better role model outside his own family. All I can say is that it sorrows me to have to stand here with you under such circumstances. Your works have followed you, as well.

Genesis 4:1-15, "And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD. And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. And in process of time it came to pass that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him. And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him. And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper? And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground."

Rick, let me interrupt you for a moment there. Notice, Abel's blood cried from the ground. It was his testimony. Even after his death, he was still known for his service to God. As Bill said, his works are following him, even today. Go ahead, beginning now with verse 11, please.

"And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand; When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth. And Cain said unto the LORD, My punishment is greater than I can bear. Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me. And the LORD said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the LORD set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him."

This is the first recorded, physical death in scripture. Abel�s life would be his testimony in his death.

It is time for many to meet the Pat Howard they never knew. In her death, the life she lived will be her testimony, both in this world and before the very throne of heaven.

Her father wasn�t religious in her early years. He refused to go to church. From the time she was a small child; her foremost objective was pleasing and serving her God. She bounced from denomination to denomination, seeking truth. She had no training in things pleasing to God.

At the age of 12, her father remarried. June is from England, and a devout member of the �Church of England.� As such, Mama was exposed to the �Episcopal Church.� She would walk for miles to attend their services in Marietta. The Episcopalians were different enough from the English denomination, June wouldn�t go. The young girl was quite sincere in her efforts to believe and please her God in obedience.

As an Episcopalian, Mama believed sprinkling was acceptable for salvation in place of baptism. My father was a Baptist. He believed in immersion, but not in its necessity for salvation.

Daddy worked with Marvin Kennedy. He and Brother Bill Long, here, were asked by my father to study with both of my parents. Mama accepted nothing at face value. She was going to examine the evidence. To get the evidence, she brought her priest into the study. She was determined to show my father she could study with the best of them. With Bill and Marvin arrayed against her, that is exactly what she ended up doing.

Over the course of many meetings, she gathered statements from both sides as to meanings of words. Then she went to the library to do research, assured she was correct.

On finding out she was not correct, and the priest had been misleading her, she confronted the priest the next time they met. She asked him, �You were going to let me ride your coat tails straight to Hell, weren�t you?�

She discovered baptism is only and always immersion. Sprinkling is rhontism, and a totally different action, diametrically opposed to the revealed Word of God.

She went at it from the context of proving herself right, but she showed a level of spiritual honesty lacking in many. When shown she was in error and lost, she promptly admitted it.

Bill and Marvin took my parents to church to baptize my mother the same hour. I was eventually named after Marvin; such an impact the truth had in her life. My father had believed baptism was immersion, but that it was not important for salvation, so he, too, was unsaved. Her example led him to be baptized right behind her, correctly this time.

Mama was quiet, yet spiritually strong. She remained so over the course of many years.

Now, we come to her trials. This is the part of her which you may not know, for she kept things like this to herself.

She lost her two other sons before I was born. They died from the false doctrines of rhontism and total hereditary depravity practiced by the only hospital in the area. These doctrines cost my brothers their lives.

While my sister was being born, and my mother was having a hysterectomy in 1965, her father robbed her of her inheritance.

She was injured and handicapped for life when I was in the ninth grade.

While still recovering from the initial injury and surgery, she lost her husband.

Even in the most severe pain, she went to church; for years.

Five years ago, she learned her daughter was going to die as well. At the same time, she began to go blind with cataracts. No one had money to help her medically.

All the while, her injury was worsening. Doctors warned her not to lift more than 5 pounds safely, 10 at the most. She was told that walking, and even standing, could now break her hip, and kill her.

Four years ago, her father died.

Three years ago, she was pronounced legally blind. Only at this point would the government step in to help. Her sight was finally restored.

Two years ago, she learned I was terminal. This was later proven incorrect, but the thought lingered with her as I suffer many of the same symptoms of my late sister.

Also two years ago, her health was deteriorating further. The doctors changed her medications. Now, she was not able to attend worship any longer. She was not able to do anything in the mornings, and she hurt too much at night to do much then. She lost the fellowship of the church in practice, if not in name.

A year and a half ago, Brother Clifford died. He was the last remaining vestige of help she had from church; he was the only ride she had. She had, now, effectively lost the church.

Last year her daughter died. My health had been deteriorating to the point I could not visit as often as I liked.

This year, a $60,000 fraud was committed against her. With only her $565 a month income, it made her bankrupt. This wounded her, for as a Christian, she knew to pay everything she owed.

Her step-mother�s health has now deteriorated to the point where she will die at any time.

Many times, due to false rumors and gossip, her grandchildren have been threatened with kidnapping. Having been indoctrinated into the world, these rumors had sources within both the family and church, and continue to this day. They were even temporarily effective once.

My mother died in her sleep, but she died alone, probably of a broken heart.

Let�s look at another aspect of her life. You may already know this, but it is possible it is forgotten.

She was a tough woman. The only woman I have seen who was tougher was my Granny Howard.

She raised three children alone for many years. She got all three of us out of many real jams. This continued even into our adulthood.

Even in her infirmity, she traveled to Arkansas to help us when our daughters were born. She traveled to Tennessee to help when our son was born.

She was the supporting strength for my web ministry. When I reached a mental block, I could always call her, regardless of the hour, and she would help me find what I needed.

She maintained her house even in her infirmity. Even after she had been dead a week, with a dog alone in the house, the investigating officer was wide eyed, �This house is CLEAN!�

She read her Bible constantly. Even though the church rarely if ever called her, she remained faithful to the church. She continually had informal studies with other ladies in her building.

She loved her Lord. She lived for her Lord. Now, she lives with her Lord. For you see, I said she died alone. In the physical realm, this may be true. Yet, just like the old �Footprints� poem we all know and love, she really wasn�t alone. Jesus was carrying her the whole way, and He knew it was time for her mental and physical suffering to end. He carried her straight to Abraham�s bosom.

She obeyed God, receiving salvation while here on earth. She remained faithful even unto death, in the direst of circumstances, and received the promised crown of life in the hereafter.

Revelation 6:9-11, "And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled."

God�s promise is just and sure. Mama�s life is her testimony. The lives of her children are her legacy. I am proud to be able to say, �I am a son of Pat Howard.�