The tragic motorcycle accident on Interstate 5 earlier this month that claimed the life of a woman who attended the Toledo First Baptist Church broke my heart.
Nadine Alise Beaman, 52, was riding her Harley northbound on a beautiful afternoon when a car veered into her after hitting debris in the roadway. She died at the scene, leaving behind her husband of 32 years, three adult children and three grandchildren.
When I heard the news, I prayed. I did the same thing when I read the obituary for Sarah Anne Slape, a Chehalis native and Adna High School graduate who died at age 38 after a six-year battle with cancer, leaving her husband to raise four young sons.
I prayed for the family of Bert Oberg, another church member, who died at 87. And for Linda Sabin, who attends my former church, St. Francis Xavier Mission, and lost her sister, Carol Ann Wisner, a little over a week ago. And for the Toledo family who lost a baby to SIDS.
It’s been a tough season of saying goodbye. I realize death is a part of life, as Ecclesiastes 3 notes so poetically, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance …”
But when someone dies unexpectedly in an accident, it forces us to take a look at our lives and realize all our plans for tomorrow may never materialize, if God calls us home early. Have we told everyone we love how much they mean to us? Do we live every day to its utmost? Are we ready to meet God tonight or tomorrow if it’s time?
Noting that her death leaves a hole in the lives of family, friends and community members, Beaman’s obituary states, “She also leaves behind a legacy that inspires all who knew her to slow down, enjoy life and to be completely selfless no matter what the situation.”
At Beaman’s funeral Sunday, as heartbreaking as it was, I saw a community and a church rally around the family, filling all the sanctuary seats, overflowing out the doors, spilling downstairs to the basement where a live feed was broadcast. As a church, we are one body in Christ — in Toledo, Lewis County, Washington, the United States and the world. When one part of the body hurts, we all feel pain. As I looked around, I felt grateful to belong to a church community of people who care enough to comfort those in need, acting out what Jesus commanded in John 13:34-35. “As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”
Pastor Joe Martin has spent a lot of time with grieving families in our church, including Nadine’s husband, Stephan Beaman.
As he shared his message, the pastor noted, “Steve summed it up the other day when he said ‘Nadine just enjoyed every minute of her life.’”
What a tribute and a blessing.
Bethel Church
Speaking of churches, congratulations to the people at Bethel Church in Chehalis who raised enough money to pay off the building’s mortgages. Kathy Odle Schilperoort posted a photo on Facebook of Pastor Kyle Rasmussen interviewing Pastor Don Brown and Glenda Brown, who envisioned building the church in the early 1980s.
“Praise God from whom all blessings flow!” Schilperoort wrote.
Amen.
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Julie McDonald, a personal historian from Toledo, may be reached at memoirs@chaptersoflife.com.
