A picture of our praise team back in the day. Sister Lisa is standing to my right in this picture.

As believers, we tend to have titles prescribed to us, some noting position while others are a default title for use when we address each other. Pastor, deacon, brother this, sister that…many get the title but if you really think about it, how many people have actually earned it? Not in the sense that you earn the right to be called brother or sister in Christ but Lisa truly lived it.

Sister Lisa Williams was a living example.

For several years, Sister Lisa stood on my left hand side in our church’s praise team. There are only five of us total now but rain or shine, she was there giving it her all. The Lord called her home this week after a dignified fight with cancer and to be honest with you, trying to sing this past Lord’s Day was really, really hard. Since she had fallen ill she hadn’t sung with us in a few months. It has been odd not hearing her voice to say the least but now knowing that she won’t be coming back to praise with us…that hurts.

We aren’t anything special on our own but together, our praise team sings with a heart that touches even those who had no intention of being touched. Not because we sound so heavenly but because we sing from the heart. Sister Lisa was the type of person, the type of Christian, who gave you strength when you were up there because regardless of what was going on around her or us, she was there to praise the Lord; and that is a powerful thing. It is very easy–tempting even–to fall into the church celebrity trap or the “things are so bad I can’t praise” trap. In one you are absorbed in self-pity. In the other you are recognized for your ability to serve rather than the intent of said worship. There were no such quarrels within Lisa, she was there to praise point blank period. Don’t get me wrong, we all are but Lisa never seemed to lose sight of that when I know for a fact that I have. Every time we get up to sing, it’s for the Lord but Lisa really drilled that point home, much more than I did. She always sang with a joy in her heart, in her voice, that made me pray for days when I could worship so fervently.

Once for Easter or Christmas–I can’t remember which–we had to sing extra songs being that it was the holidays and all. I am not a fan of singing holiday songs because I find them sleep inducing and confusing for those who aren’t initiated in Christian mythos. Nevertheless, while singing, I happened to glance over at Lisa and you could almost smell the Holy Spirit dripping from her praise. I am cautious of what I call church theatrics, mainly because I find it to be disingenuous. However, Lisa had her arms raised and swaying, praising the Lord with out a care in the world. I learned something very important that day. No matter how you are feeling, no matter what you are going thru, when you are praising the Lord, you are doing just that. Everything else is secondary. We shouldn’t be worshipping because we believe in a magic Jesus who grants our wishes, but because we serve a God who loved us enough to offer us a way out. Lisa may have prayed for healing but she didn’t question why she was going thru what she was. She did as Paul had done when he says in 2 Timothy 4:7 that:

 “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith…”

I don’t care if you are the type of person who sees the Bible as hogwash, Lisa lived an exemplary Christian life and I challenge anyone to tell me how that is a bad thing. You can have all your proclivities and religious hang ups, but when it comes to Sister Lisa and living a Christ like life, you had better have some damn good evidence to sway me to the contrary, and I am positive that you do not.

Sister Lisa Williams was more than a sister in Christ; she was a genuine friend and good Christian woman. She loved God, her family, her friends and would darn near break her back for those that she didn’t know. She is just that kind of person. If you’ve noticed, I’ve tried to refer to her in the present tense because as far as I am concerned, she is not gone. While she is not here with us physically, I know that her spirit is at home with the Lord. If anything she beat us home, and there are few faces I can think of that I would rather see when I get there than hers at the front door, welcoming me in after a race hard fought.

We love you Sister Lisa. Until we meet again.