Faith From A Funeral

What happens when a family legacy and a mission from Kenya converge at a funeral? Join us on this special episode of Quirks, Bumps, and Bruises as we welcome Trish Sanberry, Director of Business Development at Joy FM, who shares a deeply moving story about her grandmother's passing. Trish recounts the heartfelt moments from the service, where her brother, a preacher, delivered a compelling sermon after returning from a mission in Kenya. He challenged the attendees to move beyond simply knowing about the Lord to truly knowing Him in the heart, emphasizing that the 18-inch journey from head to heart can be the difference between salvation and loss.

The celebration of faith continued with Trish's father sharing his own testimony and the profound impact of his mother-in-law’s unwavering faith. The invitation to embrace salvation resonated powerfully, leading to an emotional response from four individuals, including three of Trish's grandmother's great-grandchildren. This episode paints a poignant picture of a family united by faith, legacy, and love, showing how these elements can transcend generations and inspire change. Listen in to be reminded of the enduring power of a life lived faithfully and the importance of family connections that reach beyond this life.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hi, I'm Melody and I'm Candy and you're listening
to Quirks, bumps and Bruises.

Speaker 2 (00:07):
So on this episode today, we're doing something a
little bit different.
We have a special friend inhere with us.
Her name is Trish Sanberry,which I'm sure you've heard that
name here at Joy FM, and Trishis the Director of Business
Development here for Joy FM, andwe don't get to hear you on the
air a lot.
You're out and about all day,every day.
Yeah, you're a people person,you are, and we're grateful that

(00:31):
you're out there, basically onthe front lines, asking people
to support Joy FM, and so, ifyou're listening, you have a
business right now.
This is the girl to call.
Yes, please call, please call.
I'd love to meet you.
Yes, you would.

Speaker 1 (00:45):
So we brought you in today because you have quite a
story and your grandmotherrecently passed away, yes, and
at the funeral somethingextraordinary happened.
So we're just going to let youkind of take it and tell that
story from beginning to end forus.

Speaker 3 (01:04):
Well, my grandmother would have been 94 on the 22nd
and she passed away on the 18th.
She lived a very long,beautiful life and she was a
Christian, loved the Lord.
It was because of her legacythat you know a lot of my family
know the Lord.
Well, at her funeral it wasmostly nothing but family.

(01:24):
My mom's siblings passed awayyears ago too, so it's just my
mom left now and my family, ourchildren so it's her great
grandchildren as well were thereand my brother got up and spoke
about out of First Corinthians2.9.
And he talked about our legacyand he said you know, he lived a
wayward life for a long timeand God brought him to where he

(01:47):
is now and he is now a preacher.
He just got back from Kenya,africa, seeing thousands of
people saved.
He literally got back the nightbefore her funeral and he was
sharing all of this and you knowhow, one day we're going to see
her again and he told everybody.
But what will be a shame is, ifyou know, just the ones who
know the Lord are going to seeher again and it would be so sad

(02:08):
for the rest of our family thatwon't be united with her.
He's like you know.
I heard my pastor say thisbefore and he wanted to share it
with everybody.
He said the only thing thatreally keeps you out of heaven
is a distance of about 18 inches, and he's like and that is the
distance between your head andyour heart.
And you may know the Lord, youmay know a lot about him, you

(02:29):
may think a lot about him, butif you don't know him with your
heart, that's what's going tokeep you out of heaven and it
would be a shame that 18 inchesis what keeps you from entering
those.
And then, after that, my dadgot up and spoke and shared his
testimony and his memories withmy grandmother and he talked
about the day he got saved intheir little church, that there
was a big verse above the pulpiton the back wall that is still

(02:53):
there today at Liberty Baptistand it's Romans 6, 23,.
For the wages of sin is death,but the gift of God.
And he shared that and hetalked to everyone about their
salvation.
And you know the consequencesof your sin is death.
And from that death are yougoing to end up with eternal
life?
Are you going to end up in hell?
Are we going to end up with heragain one day and all of our

(03:15):
other loved ones, or are wegoing to be left behind?
And he closed it out.
He's like you know, I justthink that Ida would have she.
She wants to see y'all again.
She loved each and every one ofyou.
She just wants to see you again.
And he closed out and said ifyou?
I just feel like I need to askif you don't know the Lord in
your heart, you don't know himas your Savior.
You've never repented your sin.
You never asked Christ to saveyou.

(03:37):
Would you like to today?
He's like no one's looking, soso you can just say this prayer.
I'll help you pray the prayer.
And then he asked if anyone had.
At the end of it, and fourpeople raised their hands, three
of which were my grandmother'sgreat grandchildren, who, I
believe, haven't really heardthe gospel.
I don't think that they're veryactive in church.

(03:58):
I don't know they may be, butit was just sombering to see
that three of her greatgrandchildren received Christ as
their Savior the day that wewere saying our goodbyes.
And then one of my cousin'schildren that got saved.
She brought her boyfriend andhe also got saved.
Oh my goodness.
So it was just a wonderful dayof sadness, but yet rejoicing

(04:22):
because God gained four morechildren and we just thought it
was so wonderful to see that.

Speaker 1 (04:29):
Trish, you had talked about that, and I just think
that that is just such awonderful time to present the
gospel.

Speaker 2 (04:36):
I have always thought about this or just had
questions about this.
Do you think that God broughtyour sweet grandma over to the
side and pulled back the littlecurtain and said look.

Speaker 3 (04:47):
I have no doubt.
You know, the Bible says we'resurrounded by a cloud of
witnesses.
Yeah, and I believe God allowsthem to see things like that.

Speaker 1 (04:55):
And if he doesn't, I think he will on the other side.
Yeah, I know I say this a lotand have said this a lot on air
that it's a quote that MaxLicato says that when we reach
heaven, do you think that Jesusmay walk up to us and say, hey,
you see that person over there.
They're here because of you.
You want to go meet them.
Yeah, you know.
So I think that even if thatdoesn't happen, where you peel

(05:17):
back the curtain, that when wereach heaven, one day we will
see what our lives have producedfor him.
So I think that's just abeautiful story and quite
amazing.
My son-in-law is a pastor and hehas said before and I've heard
several pastors say this thatfunerals are one of your best
witnessing opportunities,because you have a lot of family

(05:40):
, you have a lot of friendsalways sitting there that do not
know the Lord, and so that is atime where a lot of pastors
will almost do like a minisermon in order to try to reach
their hearts that way, becausethey're vulnerable during that
time, they're listening duringthat time and they know they
want to see that person againduring that time, and so I think

(06:04):
your situation is one of thebiggest.
I think that I've heard thatmany people at that time, and so
I think your situation is oneof the biggest.
I think that I've heard thatmany people at one time, so that
is awesome.

Speaker 3 (06:09):
It was just amazing.
And when we found out later ofwho my dad saw, who they were,
it was just so heartwarming, asfamily members, to know more of
our family is going to be withus one day.
So no one left behind.
Yeah, that's awesome.

Speaker 4 (06:24):
Thanks for listening to the Quirks, Bumps and Bruises
podcast with Candy and Melody.
If you enjoyed the show, pleasetake a moment to subscribe,
rate and share the podcast.
You can learn more at joyfmorg.

Speaker 5 (06:41):
We're so glad you joined us today.
Find more hope, joy and peaceeven when you're short on time.
Download and subscribe now toyour encouraging five-minute
podcast with Eric and Heather.
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