My name is Rich Pankow and Sherri is my sister. Family and friends have shared special verses from Scripture that have brought us comfort that we wanted to share here today.
Revelation 21:4 – And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
Proverbs 3:5-6 – Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight.
Romans 8:38-39 – For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Romans 8:28 – And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
Isaiah 30:41 - Those who trust in the Lord will find their strength renewed. They will rise on wings like Eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and will not faint
John 14:27 – Peace I leave with you: my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
Hebrews 12:1-2 – Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin, which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
• I, like everyone here today, certainly cannot understand why God called Sherri at this point in her life.
• What I do know, is that He is sovereign and that as Romans 8:28 states…ALL things work together for good - good and bad
• God has no duty to reveal His perfect plan to us, but when he does it is a treat
• Most of you probably don’t know that Sherri was born premature and weighed less than 3lbs. She was in intensive care for a month fighting for her life. God chose not to call her home at that time and the reasons are now abundantly clear
• The two biggest reasons are right here in the front row. Sherri was spared as an infant so that she could be the giver of life to Bailey and Madison. So she could be a loving mother to them both.
• Bailey and Madison, your mother loves you more than you will ever know and that love will continue forever. When you miss your mom I want you to read the first two verses of Hebrews 12 that I just read. The passage talks about believers that are in heaven being part of a “cloud of witnesses” while we run the race of life here on earth. Your mother is now in heaven and she’s a part of that cloud of witnesses
she is cheering you on
she will always be cheering you on
she is cheering us all on
• Sherri was not only a wonderful mother; she was also a daughter, a sister, an aunt, a wife, a friend, a soul mate, a leader, a colleague and so much more. Sherri’s life not only touched the people in this sanctuary today, but countless others that have felt her love and her laughter over the past 46 years.
Our youngest sister Kathryn shared this special memory. Not long after Bailey was born she and Heather were trying to give him a bath and Sherri came in to find them holding on to him for dear life as he was slipping and sliding all over the place. They laughed for what felt like forever in that tiny bathroom over the fact that it took all three of them to control one wet baby boy.
Susan said she would never forget the LOVE Sherri showed for her son Rawlings. At a recent golf tournament, Sherri held him ALL day long and would not let anyone else hold him.
She also shared a favorite Christmas memory - Susan slept with Sherri in her bed and in the morning woke up to find Madison and Bailey in bed with them.
Heather shared that she cherished the silly memories–singing – silly faces – fighting like cats and dogs –doing line dances (“quoting here, Sherri was not the most coordinated soul”) – running the half marathon – Sherri left behind, but finishing with bloody heels.
Heather went on to say, she was adventurous and courageous, so incredibly genuine and loyal as a sister. She was so proud of me…ALWAYS, no matter the circumstances. She looked at me with such pride. We had this amazing non-judgmental love. No one will ever love me like Sherri did…That’s what I will miss the most!!!
My wife Jenny loved that Sherri always made her feel a part of things - made her feel welcome. There was nothing disingenuous about Sherri.
One memory I have of Sherri was when Jenny and I went to visit her Mark and Bailey a few weeks after Madison was born. Sherri was cutting Bailey’s nails with her teeth because she was concerned that she may cut him with the clippers. Over the past few years I have given my share of similar manicures to my two boys, now understanding the love and tenderness she showed to Bailey.
I want to say on behalf of the family, how touched we are by the love that has been showered on us by so many friends of Sherri. We have taken great comfort hearing stories about why you loved her and how Sherri impacted your lives. Thank you very very much.
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