I am writing this blog post right now because I am not really sure what else to do. Today I got the shocking news that Cindy Wall (of Auburn Alabama) had passed away and is now with our Lord. This is the same person that I wrote about in my last blog post, (called Skype Video Baptism from Innovate08 in South Bend to Auburn) who had blessed all of us so much through her baptism. [To see the full slideshow of photos from the baptism, click Cindy Wall Skype Baptism gallery.]
This truly had to be God’s will and timing. Something so hard to explain and so hard to comprehend could be nothing else than God’s raw will expressed through her life, shown as a witness to us all, that there is never a good time to put off God’s work. At this point it is so hard to process the information and put into words the flood of thoughts that come to mind.
Over the past several months I have written many blog posts (like my mother-in-law Georgia Christal, musician Matthew Butler, and others like Steven Curtis Chapman, Prayers for His Family, Family Testimony, Bronner Burgess Drowns in Pool) about individuals that have come into my life in one form or another and then died, and I am then again reminded that we are NOT in charge of this world, God is. After the last few posts about Matthew Butler and after hearing from his mother and his widowed wife, I wrote Is it Really Important to Ask God Why Anymore?, and that is a little how I feel right now. Why bother asking why, it isn’t up to us, no matter how hard we try to make the world conform to our life, instead of us conforming to God’s will for our life.
Thank You Cindy for the Time You Spent With Me
I spoke with Cindy on Sunday morning about the baptism and I told her how much it really meant to the people involved, and me personally. The conversation we had was something I meant to tell her on Friday after the baptism, but I am so glad I did on Sunday.
Now, her actions to follow Jesus in baptism on Friday was something so huge, so important, that none of us could have possibly comprehended at the time. Any one person could have said no, could have decided it was to much trouble, our pastor could have said he didn’t have time (after all, he was in another state), and any number of other things could have kept the baptism from happening. Yet, the people involved, in another state, said yes, we will follow the Lord.
Much of my conversation with Cindy before the baptism was about our preconceived notions of “church” and “a baptism”, and why it doesn’t always have to be like the traditions of history. Her baptism was to be a party. She wanted her baptism to be a celebration, which meant, a party. In the same sentence, she told me she wanted her baptism to be a party, just like her funeral. Of course when you are talking to a young person, about to be baptized, the second part just flew by my ears without much notice.
She took the time to talk to me, tell me about her experiences, and invite me into one of the most exciting times in her life and to that, all I can say is thank you.
If the Lord is Pressing You to Do Something, Don’t Wait
There is no greater example of a life in submission to the Lord than this. If He is doing the same to you, don’t wait, our time here is short. It puts into perspective some of the people I interact with each day, some of the projects I am involved with, and what importance each has in my life. It does makes me think about the things I did today… what did you do? I spent several hours working with b/ this morning, and then spent the rest of the day with my wife. Not every day goes like today, but It was time well spent.
Tonight I felt compelled to spend some time and write something about Cindy’s story and the witness of faith her life now represents. Tomorrow, when I re-read this, it may not make any sense to me at all, but her life was special to many, and it was to me as well, thanks Cindy.
Other Posts Related to this Topic
It seems that every day since Cindy Wall [AU press release] died I have found out more and more about what a great person she was and how much she meant to so many people. Yesterday there was a beautiful memorial service for Cindy at Cornerstone United Methodist Church in Auburn where many people shared what an impact she had with the Auburn Athletics department and the Auburn students in general.
