Just sending out a quick note to make you all aware of something.
Mel's friend Rose Olson is an artist. She painted Mel a very special piece and it was presented to her at the 'friends gathering' for Mel several months ago. It was the piece that Mel spoke of on her blog (http://mpenner1.blogspot.ca/2015/07/a-painting-of-hope.html) and the piece that friends had an opportunity to add a word or phrase to, to describe Mel. It hung beside Mel's bed (and was the first thing she saw each morning) not only here for her last month at home but was also what she awoke to every morning at Riverview. It is one of Mel's favourite flowers - the tulip and of course her favourite colour – pink. The painting was originally called "First to Arrive" but Mel renamed it “A Painting of Hope”.
Rose had two reproductions made and had them on display and for sale at her recent art show together with a picture of Melanie and a link to Mel’s blog. This led to many wonderful conversations about Melanie’s faith story.
Rose has so generously offered that 100% of the profits of the sale of this painting now and in the future will go to Kira and Teagan's Trust Fund. In chatting with Rose, we thought this painting could continue to be a special reminder of Melanie, her faith story and your connection to our family. Perhaps it can also serve as a reminder about the importance of prayer – that you continue to pray for me, Kira and Teagan and a reminder, for when you face your own heartbreak that you learn to trust in God as Mel did. Even though we feel the pain of losing Melanie every day, our hope in God gives peace that truly surpasses any human understanding (Philippians 4:4-9).
So if anyone would like to have a copy of this piece of art in your home, we want to make reproductions available. Rose’s supplier has offered to consider special pricing based on the quantity of the orders received so that more of the proceeds can go to the girls trust fund.
Please see the attachment below for the size and price options. Our plan is to place the order by November 25th, so if you can let Rose know by then, it would be much appreciated. Her email is rosalieolson.art@shaw.ca Your painting will be available for pick-up at my home before Christmas.
To view this painting again go to: www.rosalieolson.comunder the section “Limited Edition Giclee”.
Rose, you are truly a gifted artist but more importantly a special person who had a very special place in Mel's heart and ours also :)
Thank you for sharing your artistic gifts and your generosity.
Darryl Penner
P.S. We were asked that we send this out to as many of Mel's friends as we could......so feel free to pass this on and spread the word.
Melanie’s Painting of Hope
In Tribute and in Friendship to a Very Special
Person – Melanie Penner
The watercolour painting “First to Arrive” was my gift
to Melanie which she renamed her “Painting of Hope”.
100% of the profits from the sale of
this painting will be donated to the trust fund set up for Darryl and Melanie’s
daughters, Kira and Teagan.
A reproduction of the original painting (without text)
is available as a premium gallery wrapped canvas (ready to hang) in the
following sizes:
·16 x
20:$200
·11 x 14:$170
·12 x 12:$150 *Cropped version
Also available, Fine Art Paper print, mounted on mat board
(unframed);
Eulogy as Read by Trisha Klassen and Anita Hiebert (Melanie's Sisters-in-Law) at Melanie's Celebration of Life, August 28th, 2015
MELANIE SHANNON PENNER (nee KLASSEN) - March 23, 1976 - August 21, 2015
Our hearts
are broken to announce the passing of our beloved Melanie Penner, wonderful
wife, loving mother, treasured daughter and sister and loyal friend. Melanie is lovingly remembered by her husband,
Darryl, her two beautiful daughters, Kira and Teagan, her parents Dennis and
Marion Klassen, her brother and sister-in-law Jeffrey and Trisha Klassen and
their son, Otto. She has joined her brother, Jason in Heaven. She
is also dearly missed by Darryl’s parents, David and Hilda Penner, his sisters,
Anita and Ramona, and Anita’s daughter, Kai.
Melanie
grew up in Roseisle, Manitoba and attended school in Roseisle and Miami.
Melanie accepted Christ as her saviour at a young age. She attended
Roseisle EMC and was baptized into that church as a teenager. Melanie put
her faith into action when she worked as a camp counsellor at Turtle Mountain
Bible Camp. This would also change her
life in other ways, as it would be where she met her future husband, Darryl.
She moved to Winnipeg to attend the University of Winnipeg and to be
closer to Darryl. They made Whyte Ridge
Baptist church their home, where they both became actively involved in
Ministry. Melanie married Darryl in 1997
and shortly thereafter she graduated with her Bachelor of Education in 1998.
She worked as an early years teacher at various schools around Winnipeg,
the most recent being Phoenix School in Headingly. Although Melanie loved the children she
interacted with in the classroom her desire to impact children took on new
meaning when Melanie gave birth to two daughters, Kira in 2003 and Teagan in
2005.
Melanie
was a loving and caring wife and mother. Together with her husband,
Darryl she poured into the lives of their two beautiful daughters. Despite her own busy schedule, she managed her
household’s sports, social, school and church schedules with the skill of an
air traffic controller.
She
encouraged every interest her girls had, whether they be athletic or artistic.
Melanie would spend many hours every week attending or preparing for
dance, piano, basketball, track or any number of other activities.
Spending time with her family was a priority for her. It didn’t
matter if it were playing games, walking the dog, riding bike, or playing in
the yard, Melanie knew the importance of time with her family. Melanie’s
family enjoyed many vacations and camping trips together. The entire family shared a love for travelling
and the outdoors, which included things, like water sports, hiking, and beach
time.
Melanie
was a great cook. Despite being busy with all her health concerns, she
was able to develop a talent for making healthy and great tasting food for
herself and her family. She loved her garden and found peace in the
beauty of nature. Melanie loved to read,
you could often find her immersed in a good book.
Melanie
was a passionate early years teacher who touched thousands of young lives with
her innovative and nurturing take to learning. Melanie had a special
approach to the well-known Daily 5 program that was published and circulated
for teachers across the province to learn and use in their classrooms.
Many teachers came to her classroom to observe her unique approach.
She also had additional training in the Roots of Empathy program.
This program teaches young children to care for and appreciate others
through interactions with a baby and mother that visit the class. It was
so fitting for Melanie to be tasked with training future generations on how to
care for others. Her dedication to this program continued even through
her illness as she committed to voluntarily lead monthly visits so that another
class of children could benefit from it. In recognition of Melanie’s
admirable achievements in early years education her colleagues nominated her
for a YW-YMCA Woman of Distinction award in 2012.
Melanie
was a true friend. Her honesty, loyalty, and boldness meant that knowing
her was to be impacted by her. Her relationships were never superficial.
She never approached anyone with kindness just to be polite. Her
kindness was always genuine and from the heart. Her love for others is
what made Mel such an attractive friend. This was never more evident than
when Mel needed her community. The response from her work, church,
neighbourhood and sports friends was nothing short of overwhelming. The
size and depth of response to Melanie when she was in need is a testament to
her investment in others. From the
hundreds of people that purchased tickets and attended the fundraising social
to the many people that brought meals and helped transport the girls to their
activities - Melanie and her family have been extremely thankful for the
outpouring of support.
Melanie
was a gifted writer. Over the last two years, her blog gave the world a
glimpse of her courage, struggle, and faith. She never held back and at
times it was gut-wrenching, but it was an amazing insight into Melanie’s life
as she taught us all what it really means to lean on Christ. Even early in Mel’s writing she knew she
wanted to have an impact. We found some
of her writing from her grade 12 year and it is evident that even then God was
preparing her heart for a journey. These
were some of her words:
“From this
day on I shall not stand placid, but I shall conquer great battles, make myself
known in the nation. I will visit places
I have never been, and bless each person I meet. I will bring good to all, and in return will
be rewarded. My name will go down in
history, and after death, memories of me shall last. Memories of success, memories of respect,
memories of bringing good to all. Oh, as
my ambition rises, I want to cure the world of illness, set free any captive,
and provide for the needy. I now have
new hopes that when I abandon this world I shall leave behind pleasant
memories.”
Little did
she know at that time the truth these words would hold.
Melanie
was a fervent servant of Christ Jesus, and the strength of her faith was truly
inspirational.It seemed no matter what
challenges their family faced, her faith and trust in God would only be
bolstered by these events. She believed
that a walk with Christ extended beyond the church walls and was an active
leader in their local Love Winnipeg outreach projects. Connecting the church with a Daycare, the
local police and fire departments, and being part of the Parent Advisory
counsel at the girls’ school were all things that she knew would show the love
of Jesus to the community around her. Because
of her gift of discernment she was chosen by her church, Whyte Ridge Baptist,
to go to Bolivia in August of 2013 to help chose a new mission endeavour for
their congregation. Melanie’s faith
impacted so many people, even until her last days her faith in Jesus Christ was
present and evident.
Melanie
was diagnosed with cervical cancer in October 2013 despite regular screening
and follow up with various health care professionals.Melanie underwent chemotherapy and radiation
therapy from December 2013 to January 2014. In the midst of Melanie’s
stressful therapy, Darryl also struggled with health issues. He required
surgery for a benign mass behind his right eye. Thankfully, Darryl’s
surgery was complication free and his recovery was quicker than expected.
During
this time Melanie started a blog, documenting her cancer journey. Mel had
a unique gift to turn her struggle into encouragement and enlightenment for us
all. She also used this gift to do numerous public speaking engagements
over the course of her illness.
Unfortunately,
Melanie’s cancer persisted. Her doctors attempted one last curative
surgery in June 2014, but during the operation it was discovered that her
cancer had spread to her lymph nodes. It was felt that the surgery was no
longer curative given the extent of the disease, and was aborted. Melanie
was informed that there were no further conventional medical therapies.
Melanie decided to increase her natural treatments and made radical
changes to her diet. With this intense regimen, Melanie enjoyed many
months of relatively good health. In this time, Melanie was able to enjoy
trips to both the Dominican Republic and Memphis with family and friends.
The family also welcomed the addition of their dog Jett. He was a comfort to the entire family and was
a constant companion for Melanie as she wrestled through her journey.
In June of
this year it was discovered that Melanie’s cancer had spread to multiple
places, including her spine, causing multiple fractured vertebrae and a
significant increase in pain. Her level
of function declined over the next two months, as did her appetite and her
ability to cope at home. In this time however, she was able to organize a
40th birthday party for Darryl and attend a party in her honour at the home of
Sandra Nickel, where numerous friends honoured her and showed her their love. At
that party she received the beautiful painting you see on the back of your
program, inscribed with the words of her friends as they saw her.
Melanie
was admitted to Riverview Health Centre July 30th, 2015. Her health
continued to decline over the next three weeks, but she was lovingly cared for
by the Riverview palliative staff and was always surrounded by her family.
During this admission, Darryl and Melanie were able to celebrate their
eighteenth wedding anniversary. On August 21st, with all of her family
near by, Melanie entered the arms of her loving Saviour. Although our hearts are filled with such great
sadness, we take comfort knowing that she has received complete healing. She no longer struggles with sickness and is
filled with complete peace. Today she is standing in the amazing
presence of God. The following are the pages of the program from her service:
Below is the bookmark presented to guests as a gift and keepsake:
This is the message, spoken by Melanie's Pastor, Terry Janke, at Melanie's Celebration of Life Service on August 28th, 2015. Melanie and her family had a unique bond with each of the pastors at their church. Her family would like to thank Pastors Terry, Kevin, and Doug for being an amazing source of support and encouragement.
Darryl, Kira and Teagan
- I am sure you know this, but let me say it anyway, that we who fill this room
today knew and loved Melanie; and we are here not only to grieve her loss with
you and to celebrate her life, but we are here to support you - and going
forward may you feel that support in many forms.
Not
many people are told, "This cancer
is going to take your life. You don't have long to live. Go home and build a
legacy." That is what Melanie was told over a year ago. And we know a bit
of what her life looked like after that point because she felt called to not
live it in secrecy, but more publicly for the sake of others. She and Daryl
decided together one step at a time what this season of life would look like.
So, between appointments and treatments, Mel spent her last year blogging,
speaking to groups, visiting friends, and sharing openly with even strangers about
her journey.
On
June 1st of this year I sat with Mel in her living room and after talking and
praying, she shared how much she wrestled with trying to live and speak for
Christ, especially to friends who did not know Him the way she knew Him. She
longed to show Christ to others and she carried many of you on her heart and in
her prayers. She told me that afternoon, that when I spoke at her funeral one
day, to make sure I explained the way of knowing Christ and His forgiveness.
She had worried that maybe she had not been clear enough sometimes.
So,
as I begin I want to say that though you are here as a last gift to Melanie -
she has asked me to pass on her last gift to you, and I pray that I will be a
worthy messenger to share the story of Christ this evening. To do so, I want to
share from a letter the Apostle Paul wrote. (Read Phil 3:7 - 11)
You
can tell by how Paul writes that he is thinking he might be nearing the end of
his life. He wrote this letter from Rome, where he had been placed under house
arrest and was chained to a Roman guard on four hour shifts. And as he reflects
on his life, he begins to take stock of his gains and losses. This is not a
foreign concept to us, especially in these days when the stock market is so
volatile and what was gained yesterday might have been lost today. The consumer-oriented
society we live in leads us all to measure life in terms of monetary or
material gains and losses.
Most
of us are never forced to measure life by any other standard until we are older
or become sick; but Melanie was forced at the age of 36 to take stock of her
gains and losses, and initially it was natural for her to think more about her
losses than her gains.
She
shared on this theme about a year ago on a Sunday morning (Sept. 28/14) when we
were going through the book of Philippians. The losses she listed were the
obvious ones - being apart from Daryl, Kira and Teagan, her family and friends,
but she also mentioned her loss of health, peace of mind, financial security, career,
her health and fitness, and so on.
When
Paul received his life sentence in Rome he also had the uncertainty of when or
how he would die as well, and in the verses just prior to what I read, he lists
some of what he had to lose. He makes a list of his net worth, some which was
inherited and some acquired. Under his inherited worth he counted things like
being a Hebrew of Hebrews of the tribe of Benjamin, raised in an orthodox
family and taught at the feet of the esteemed Rabbi Gamaliel. Paul had a
pedigree to boast about.
But
he also could boast (humanly speaking) of his acquired or attained worth;
achievements such as belonging to the elite group called the Pharisees, and in
terms of being a legalistic do-gooder, no one could top Paul. He fasted more,
prayed more, gave more, studied more, and did more than any others he knew.
When you put the list together it added up to a lot of pride. In Paul's world
it meant that if anyone could have been a candidate for heaven - Paul would
have been that guy!
But
then he meets Christ. His conversion story is found in Acts 9, and when he does
the math and re-calculates his gains and losses he comes to a bizarre and very
surprising conclusion. He takes all his inherent and attained achievements, his
pedigree and accomplishments ------ and he writes in vs. 7 - 9, 'WHATEVER was to my profit I now consider
loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss
compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord, for
whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish that I may gain
Christ, and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes
from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ - the righteousness
that comes from God and is by faith.'
Paul does a spiritual inventory; weighing
out his gains and his losses, and he determines that everything he depended on
beforehand was small compared to knowing Christ. Christ was worth more than all
he had inherited or attained put together. Whatever
was to my profit I now consider loss.
Now,
Melanie did not think of her family, her education or career as some kind of
merit before God. She did not think that some of her circumstances in life or something
she attained would pre-dispose God to looking more favourably upon her. But in
a way similar to Paul, Melanie had to take an inventory of her hearts
affections and see if she treasured anything greater than Christ. Her faith was
put to that kind of test. And when she did this inventory, as hard as it was to
face the losses that she anticipated, she came to the conclusion that Christ
was better by far than all of them put together.
Mel
also had to look within her own soul and see that she needed the kind of
Saviour that only Christ could be. Someone on the outside could have looked look
at her life and thought - 'Well, if God
doesn't let someone like a Melanie Penner into heaven, then there is no hope
for a lot of us!' But she knew who she was from the inside - out. She knew
that all of her goodness still fell short of the holiness that God requires for
heaven. She realized that nothing on her list of inherited or attained gains in
this world made her fit for the next world. She understood that all of her good
deeds would be worthless currency when she arrived at heaven's gate. Nothing
she did in this world could earn her place in heaven or her favour with God...
only Christ could do that for her.
The
reason that Mel could count all of her earthly gains as losses compared to the
surpassing greatness of knowing Christ was because her spiritual eyes had been
opened to see that all of her own self-effort was nothing compared to the glory
and purity of Jesus who took her sin upon Himself on the cross and rose to new
life to give her eternal life after death.
There
is a very important spiritual principle that Paul teaches in the Scripture we
read, and to live by it will cost you your pride. The principle Paul teaches is
all efforts at self-righteousness or being good can actually serve to hinder
you in the end, if you are depending on them instead of Christ.
Imagine
for a moment someone has a cheqing account and all month long they make
deposits into their account. But at the end of the month when their bank
statement arrives, instead of being deposits, they actually appear as
withdrawals and debits. Instead of being a profit, they are a loss. The efforts
made to save money were actually counter-productive.
This
is the essence of what Paul is teaching. He lived his whole life as the most
religious, devout, do-good person one could imagine, thinking that he was
storing up righteousness with God. But instead of all his accomplishments and
good deeds counting in his heavenly account, they actually served as debits. Paul
was under the delusion, like so many, that at the end of life when he did his
spiritual accounting, adding up his losses and gains, he would come out far
ahead. But after meeting Christ, he realized that he had not gained anything;
but in fact, all of his efforts were counter-productive because they deceived
him into thinking that he could be justified before God by himself! The word that the Bible writers use to
describe how any of us are ever fit for heaven is the word "grace".
It means unmerited favour. It means nothing you do can earn it. It means that
only the humble receive it, and that exalts the One who alone can give it. Jesus
is the only One who can give you grace that helps you in heaven, because Jesus
left heaven, came to earth, lived a sinless life, died in your place, and rose
again to defeat death, the last enemy.
And
as you listen to this simple message, you either respond at your core by
thinking that you are not that bad, that you're good enough; or you respond
knowing that you need your soul washed clean from evil and sin. Paul took all
the good he could do and he said - I
consider them rubbish that I may gain Christ, and be found in Him, not having a
righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through
faith in Christ - the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.'
I
heard a story recently about a missionary in Cameroon who had asked directions
on how to get to a certain town in a jungle area. After travelling for some
time, the road became a trail, and then the trail became a path and soon the
path was not even discernible in the dense jungle. Thankfully he ran into an
old gentleman in the jungle and asked him if he knew where the path was to this
certain town. The old man nodded and said 'Follow
me'. So he followed the old man, and they hacked their way through dense
undergrowth and after about an hour he said to him, 'Are you sure you know the way? Where is the path?' And the old man
turned to him said, "Out here, I am
the path."
Friends, when you step out of this physical,
material and monetary existence and find yourself lost, you can do many things.
You can try harder to find your way. You can search out what other religious
road maps tell you - OR, you can follow Jesus who has been to death and back
again to tell of it. He made His message in the Bible very simple. He said, "I am the way, the truth and the life;
no one comes to the Father except through me." Jesus suffered all that
we should have suffered; and He obeyed all that we should have obeyed - and so
to know Him means simply to humble yourself, admit your need and run into the
arms of the One who has loved you from the beginning with a perfect love.
Right
now, Melanie is enjoying the fullness of this love in the very presence of her
heavenly Father. She has gained by the grace of God what she could never earn -
because for her to live was Christ, and to die was gain. John Piper wrote - "If you want to make Christ look great
in your dying, there is no big performance or achievement or heroic sacrifice.
There is simply a child-like laying yourself into the arms of the one who makes
the loss of everything gain."
Melanie - you have fought the good
fight. You have finished the race. You have kept the faith. And now there is in
store for you the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge
will award to you... (2 Timothy 4:7 - 8)
I
have asked permission from Daryl and the family to let Mel have the last word
in this message like she did last September, so would you pause with me, stay
seated, and listen to words of one who wrestled through what it means to lose
everything and to gain Christ. Amen.
