A tribute to my friend Lynn

This morning I ran on my treadmill with Chris Tomlin worship pushing me along. As I listened, I thought of my friend Lynn Chynoweth, who went home to be with Jesus on Saturday night. I tried to wrap my head around the idea that what sounds like beautiful worship to me from her perspective now probably would sound like an old phonograph in a distant room. As I listened to Chris sing, "Holy, Holy, Holy" I thought of her standing by the throne, singing that with the multitude. It's an amazing picture.

It comforts me to know that she is free from pain. Lynn battled cancer for a long time. When I saw her in December, she was doing well. In fact, she'd just had good news that things were looking up. We lamented not being able to have time together then, but talked about seeing each other this November when we're back in Orlando.

Last week, Lynn experience pain that took her to the hospital. Her doctor told her she had 3-6 months. God, in His mercy, decided to take her sooner.

I met Lynn when she and her husband John worked with us in Singapore. They brought years of experience and wisdom to our team, and they shared it with us humbly and graciously. Lynn was a woman with a gentle, listening heart. She invited me into her life and our times together were marked by her joy and acceptance of me. She and her husband John have always been examples to us of how to walk faithfully for the long haul, but their faith and commitment to God on this painful journey has been unbelievable. I pray that I can be the kind of person who glorifies God like that in my life. She ran the race well, and I grieve the loss of her. May we all strive to be such people of faith!