Saturday Resurrection

I went to a Mass of Resurrection today at Holy Spirt, my previous parish. It was for Sandra Shuler, wife of Deacon Tom Shuler. The church was packed to capacity with family, friends and colleagues all united in the power of the Holy Spirit. With sad hearts we sang and gave thanks to God for the many gifts given to Sandra, and the gift she was in each one of our lives. You can read all about her life below in the obit from the AJC.

Just one thought on her funeral: there was a photo of Sandra, her daughter and granddaughter on the cover of the liturgy program. The three of them dressed up, play dress that is. All smiling and enjoying one another. You can barely see that Sandra does not have much hair (a sign of difficult treatments for her cancer), but I am sure it did not matter to them one bit, for they were with the ones they loved. It just made me think how much of life we spend worrying about this and that and the troubles we have but here Sandra was, faced with death near and a body worn with "treatments" with a smile and joy with those she loved. So lets not let another day pass, no matter our problems, without enjoying the many gifts God has given us and let us live in that Love each day, living our lives to the fullest.

Keep Tom and his family in your prayers.
Eternal rest grant unto her O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon her.

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Sandra Nelson Shuler, 59, of Atlanta, died October 6, 2007, of metastatic breast cancer. At the time of her death Sandra was assistant professor of nursing at Georgia Baptist College of Nursing at Mercer University where she had been on the faculty for over 25 years. She was one of the founding faculty members when Georgia Baptist became a baccalaureate nursing school. Prior to that she was on the faculty at Emory University in Atlanta. Her teaching career began at El Centro Community College in Dallas, Texas, after serving as staff nurse at Children's Medical Center in Dallas. Sandra was an active member of Holy Spirit Catholic Church where, for many years she directed the parish's faith inquiry (RCIA) program. She is survived by her husband, Deacon Tom Shuler; daughter and son-in-law Ashley and Adriaan Lengkeek; grand-daughter Sophia Corkill; parents Kelly and Jeanne Nelson of McAlester, OK; and brothers Joe Nelson and John Nelson.