Margaret Collier

Margaret Anne Johnson Collier, age 59, died Monday, August 24, 2009, at Christus Spohn Shoreline Hospital in Corpus Christi, Texas. Margaret was born October 17, 1949, in Tupelo, Mississippi. She was the third of seven children. Margaret was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, and Christian who faithfully served in all the churches of which her husband was pastor. Margaret was a retired employee of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and was employed by Windham Independent School District as a teacher.

Margaret had two great passions, learning and loving her grandsons. She returned to school later in life and achieved her dream of earning her college degree and teacher certification. She graduated with honors in 2007 from Texas A & M University – Corpus Christi. At the time of her home-going, she was six hours from her Master’s degree. She was also the proud grandmother of four grandsons. The joy of her life was spending time with “her boys.” She was eagerly awaiting the birth of two more grandchildren.

She is survived by her devoted husband of 41 years, Warner Collier; five children, Warner (John) Collier, III and wife Catherine of Tyler, Texas; Jason Collier and wife Angela of Alvin, Texas; Melissa Seal and husband Eddie of Corpus Christi, Texas; Elizabeth Collier of Beeville, Texas; and Matthew Collier of Beeville, Texas; and four grandsons, Warner Collier, IV, Jacob Collier, and Aaron Collier of Tyler, Texas, and Luke Seal of Corpus Christi, Texas. She is also survived by three brothers and two sisters, Bert Johnson, Jr., John Johnson, James Johnson, Sharon Ellis, and Brenda Collier, all of Lee County, Mississippi. In addition to her parents, Margaret was preceded in death by one brother, Frank Johnson. She is further survived by many nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.

Services will be Wednesday, August 26 at 10 AM at Galloway and Sons Funeral Home in Beeville, Texas. Additional services will be pending at W. E. Pegues Funeral Home in Tupelo, Mississippi, with Rev. Warner Collier officiating. Burial will be at the Union Cemetery in Lee County, Mississippi.

Fairness

I have read the book of Habakkuk many times over the years. I took my first really close look at the book about a year ago when I helped develop a discussion guide for my LIFE Group. After our group completed our study of the book, I had not given the book much thought. That is until a little over two weeks ago.

You see, the book of Habakkuk is about a man who followed God and had a strong faith in God. But he also struggled with God. There were things going on in the world around him that did not seem fair. There was great injustice in society around him. He knew God was there but God seemed to be silent.

A little over two weeks ago, my mother was diagnosed with a brain tumor. After consulting with a neurosurgeon, we came to realize that the situation was bad. The MRI showed a tumor that measured about 2.4 centimeters. The doctor told us that it appeared to be a highly aggressive, malignant tumor. After surgery, we found out that the tumor was much larger than anticipated. It was about the size of a tangerine. The pathologist confirmed our worst fears. It was a grade four (highly aggressive) glioma (malignant) tumor.

My mother is an active 59 year old woman. She just completed her bachelors degree a few years ago and had just taken a new teaching job a few weeks earlier. She is one semester away from completing her masters degree. She has had an almost perfect 4.0 GPA through all that. She has four grand-sons. She derives as much joy from “her boys” as any grandmother I have ever seen. She has a set of twin grandchildren on the way. They will no doubt be as precious to her as the others. I could point out many other things, but I am sure you get the idea.

This should not have happened to her. She has followed Jesus for a long time. She has given much of her life to service along side my dad in the church. Her trust in and reliance on God has been unwavering through circumstances both good and bad, easy and difficult. As far I can understand fairness, this is not fair. Not even a little bit.

But I need to rethink fairness. When I do, I realize that I don’t really want fairness. If God were completely fair, he would completely punish all of us. God does not always treat us fairly. He does much better than that. He treats us graciously. He has graciously kept my mother for 59 years. He graciously let her tumor be diagnosed in time to operate. He graciously gave her a skilled surgeon and others to provide medical treatment. He graciously gave her a large family that loves her and supports her completely. The Bible says that every good gift and every perfect gift comes from God and only God. There are some gifts from God that we would deem as not being good. Again, I think this is due to our not having a complete understanding of what “good” is. The Bible also says that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. That perfectly describes my mother. I cannot comprehend how this awful illness will work for her good, outside of taking her to heaven, but I trust God and his word that he will somehow work things together for her good.

It is the last few verses of the book of Habakkuk that bring me the most comfort and peace during this time. Even though the prophet still does not understand the mysteries of the way the Lord chooses to work, he still has confidence in God. He describes the devastation that he sees coming and expresses his faith. I pray God will grant me that faith as the storms of confusion and doubt come. Habakkuk 3:17-19 says: “Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines, even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation! The Sovereign Lord is my strength! He makes me as surefooted as a deer, able to tread upon the heights.”

Michael Jackson Tribute

Of all the tributes to MJ this past weekend, and there have been plenty, this is without question my favorite. Enjoy this cover of "Thriller" from one of my favorite bands. How about you? What is either your favorite MJ song, or even better, what has been your favorite MJ tribute? Chime in below.