1914-1992
Funeral Service - November 5, 1992 1:00 PM
Wollaston Church of the Nazarene
"Everyone the Father gives to me will come to me; and I will never turn away anyone who believes in Me.
"You will show to me the path of life; in Your presence there is fullness of joy, and in Your right hand are pleasures forevermore."
In sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ, we commend to Almighty God our sister, Viola, and we tenderly commit her body to her final earthly resting place. The Lord will bless her and keep her; He will make His face to shine upon her and be gracious unto her, and giver her peace.
The LORD bless you and keep you; The LORD make His face to shine upon you, and be gracious unto you. The LORD lift up the light of His countenance upon you, and give you peace. Amen.
November 5, 1992 Viola Tomasetti Funeral Message
(Psalm 37)
Life is made up of choices big and small. We all make our share of good choices, perhaps; but it is certain that we also each make our choices that are not so good.
In Psalm 37 the idea of a choice presents itself at the first verse: "FRET NOT!" it says! And then it gives the alternative to fretting: THE CHOICE OF TRUSTING IN GOD! {It is interesting that this is Viola's favorite Psalm. The way she let its truth influence her life in a practical, day-to-day way, illustrates this passage from God's Word:}
The choice of trusting in God, as opposed to merely "fretting" because of all the sin in the world, is the "Master Choice" of life and living. If we trust the keeping of our lives and souls into God's hands, through faith in what Jesus Christ our Savior has done-- then the other choices we make will not ultimately ruin us. If, however, we seem to have life all figured out, and make smart choices in other areas of life, but neglect the God-dimensions of our soul, then all our other good choices cannot ultimately save us in our hour of deepest need.
Earl Lee, a friend to many of us, and fellow pastor now retired, wrote a little book twenty-five years ago called, "The Cycle of Victorious Living." In that book he gives the steps of choosing to trust God instead of choosing to fret. The steps are plain as day in the opening sentences of the Psalm (37.)
"Commit" your way to the Lord. Simply say to Him, "God, I cannot handle my life by myself. I give it to You and if You will help me, I will be Your's from now on!"
"Trust also" in (the Lord.) Beyond just giving your problems and yourself, live in the faith that He will work in your behalf. This is like putting your case into the hands of a great and good doctor.
"Delight thyself in the Lord!" This can be a tough one! It says that part of our choice not to fret means living in praise of God, even when the way is dreary or dark. But praise is powerful. And praise helps us to come to the final step:
"REST in the LORD!" Somehow, along the line as we make the choice NOT to fret, NOT to give in to life, but rather to trust the Lord, God breaks through from time to time to let us know that He really and truly IS in charge!
{Viola made the BIG choice a long time ago. And when the time came for her to die, the angels came to escort her into the Presence of her Lord. She will be sorely missed by you, her family and church family and friends. But outside of our circle the world probably will go on unmindful of her choices of life. But because Viola made the BIG choice she knew the "rest of faith" even before she died; and now she has entered into a quality of life that we can only dimly begin to understand through the veil of our limited understanding. But because of her BIG choice, Viola's testimony to us is that of the Apostle in his last letter on earth:}