Her Name Means ‘Beloved’
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”—Matthew 5:4
A few weeks ago as I was working on a sermon about the beatitudes, a commentator pointed out that these words from Matthew 5:4 were not in reference particularly to a individual’s personal grief at the loss of a loved one, but rather the mourning of a whole community (Matthew’s community) as they lamented over the fact that the world as they knew it, was so far removed from the kingdom of God. The promise that they would be comforted was ensured by the fact that because they recognized the difference between what was and what was hoped to be—they would be comforted in the fact that the Kingdom would indeed come, hopefully ushered in by their own faithful hands.
Its been ten years since we lost Aimee. Rev. Aimee Buchanan was one of the most amazing people I have ever known. She was the walking, talking, laughing embodiment of the Holy Spirit. Jesus’ love shown through her eyes and her smile like no other before or after her. She was my pastor, my mentor, my friend, my family. Ten years ago, the thought of being blessed in our mourning was more than a stretch. The idea that we would know comfort was impossible to swallow.
Of that same passage, Ronald Allen wrote, ” “To be ‘blessed’ is not simply to be happy, but to know that one is included in the coming realm.” Now that I think on it, I may not have ever known that I was included in the coming realm of God if not for Aimee and her husband Bill. I am so fortunate to have had them as a driving presence in my young life. I know there are many others who would say the same—to know her for five minutes or a lifetime was to be altered somehow, pivoted on one’s path to better greet the coming of Christ and kingdom.
Through the arts, preaching, and teaching, she drew so many alongside of her. She painted the world with God’s pallet. She co-founded Asheville Youth Mission with her husband Bill and today Youth Mission Co now has five other locations through which teens and young adults grow in faith as they practice the directive of Micah 6:8 through mission and service.
While I will never understand why Aimee’s time on earth was cut short…and I do believe she had so much more to teach us…I have come to see that she was one who was blessed in her mourning! She saw the world’s pain and heartache. But rather than run from it, she ran toward it—a wave of streamers behind her as she delivered the kingdom just a little bit closer to every person she encountered. She brought comfort to others because she revealed to them (and to me) that God’s grace was for us, no matter our brokenness, no matter our differences, no matter. There is a place for us in the kingdom of God. So, these days, when I mourn for her, I remember to turn my eye to that which she always pointed; our hands, feet, and voices are to be for the kingdom…that we might make the world look a bit more like the Lord intended.