Order of Service (Funeral)

7/31/2019 Order of Service (Funeral)

1/5

Rikki Erin Bera: A Tribute p. 114 June 1983 22 September 2012 Phoenix, AZ

28 September 2012

STARTING THE SERVICE:

On behalf of the Bera and Sommervold families, I would like to extend my most heart-felt

thanks and appreciation for every one of you who has taken time out of this busy work day tomourn the passing of my sister, Rikki Erin Bera. More importantly, we have come to celebrate

this beautiful woman and to remember the almost countless ways she has touched our lives. Ibelieve with all my heart that my sister lives on, but not just in our memories. Rikki lives on

because our lives are different . . . no, our lives are betterbecause we knew her.

Before we start, I need to give a disclaimer. I suffer from an affliction that my sister never had to

deal with. I . . . am Latino. The part of Rikkis genetic composition that gave her that strong,Stoic, Norwegian approach to life that could face any challenge head-on and kick its butt, I dont

have that. Rikkis ethnic background learned how to live in the coldest parts of the globe (likeSouth Dakota) and produced the Vikings. My background invented mojitos and still prefers a

nap after lunch. My point is this: like many Latinos, Im a very emotional person, and this is apretty emotional occasion. So please except my apologies in advance for those times when I lose

my composure and dignity, and thank you for your patience.

Before we begin, lets pray.

Heavenly Father, we come together today to remember a beautiful young woman, RikkiErin Sommervold Bera. We thank you for blessing us for twenty-nine years with her

smile, her laughter, her strength, her passion. We had hoped for more time, Lord; we hadhoped for more time. But we are grateful for the nearly three decades that we had, and we

are better off today because you brought her into our lives. We ask you to make ourmemories of and with Rikki more vivid and to protect us from our fear of forgetting.

Give us strength to accept our grief, to walk through it, and to see at the far end of thatgrief the hope of life. Not just new life, but true life. Give us eyes to see you and hearts to

feel your presence, to know that you are not far off in our most difficult moments but thatyou take our pain and feel it as your own. You, Father, know in the truest sense the pain

of losing a child; you, Father, know most clearly the comfort that we yearn for now.Walk with us as we remember Rikki. Count our tears; keep them close until that day

when you wipe them from our faces. Thank you that we are not alone, that Rikki is notgone, and that you are the Lord and the Author of Life. We put our faith in your promise

that you created us for life, that life is our truest state, and that you extend that life to uswho bear your image. We offer this prayer in Jesus precious name. Amen.

WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS ABOUT DEATH:

Death is a normalpart of the human experience, but the Bible insists that death is not natural.

When God created man and woman in his image, he created them for life, to live within andenjoy his creation and to represent him among the landscapes and lifescapes of this world. Deathis an aberration, a thing-out-of-place, like water in a basement or me in Victorias Secret. Death

does not belong. Death has no business here. Death was not part of Gods design.

If youve read the story of Adam and Eve, of the Garden of Eden and the serpent, then you know

that the Bible says that death is the result of sin. We have to be careful here, however; few wordsare as subject to misunderstanding as that three-letter word, sin. Sin is not just the wrong we do,

like stealing or lying or hating or cheating. Sin is also the wrong we suffer. When four friends


2/5


3/5


28 September 2012

rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of

mine enemies: Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodnessand mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: And I will dwell in the house of the

Lord forever.

The Bible teaches us that death is a thing-out-of-place. But thanks be to God, death will be putback in its place, and lifenot just new life but true lifewill be ours forever: yours, mine, andRikkis.

REMEMBERING RIKKI:

But we did not come here for a Bible lesson. We came here to remember Rikki Erin Bera. I

struggled to think of one or two stories of growing up with Rikki that would encapsulate whoRikki was. Rikki was not the kind of woman who could be summed up in one or two stories.

You just had to know her. But there are some things that were characteristic Rikki. For example,after our grandfather, Martin Sommervold, passed away in December, 1986, for about a week

Rikki would wake up in the middle of the night, come into my bedroom, and climb up into thetop of my bunkbed with me. I was nine years old; Rikki was only three. It was the only time my

sister and I comforted each other like this. But this was characteristic Rikki even at this youngage. Despite Rikkis legendary inner-strength, she was tender-hearted. She did not draw her

strength from pushing others away and facing life alone; she drew close to those she coulddepend on. She drew strength from them and she gave strength to them. Rikki was always a

strong individual, but she was never strong individually.

But Rikki was not just strong. She was also persistent. Most of you know that she did not pass

her state and national certifications for property management on her first attempt. Or her second.Or even her third. It would not have mattered if it took her a hundredattempts, she was going to

pass her exams. That persistence, that stubbornness, that pit-bull like lock on a goal once she had

decided she was going to do something, that was always a part of her. And I cant say I alwaysliked this about her. When we were younger, her stubbornness affected me in ways I didnt like.If she wanted to watch the Mickey Mouse Club, or Lady and the Tramp (again . . .), I had a

better chance of getting water from a rock than of prying the remote control from her hands. Butas I grew older, and as I saw the woman she was becoming despite the challenges life put in her

path, I learned to admire her persistence, and even to envy it. Too often we convince ourselves tolet go of our dreams rather than risk failing to realize them. But not Rikki. What Rikki wanted,

Rikki got. Maybe not the first time. Maybe not the second time. But if you thought Rikki wasgoing to give up or change her mind, you were about to learn something about Rikki.

I am not the only person in this room with memories or stories about Rikki. Some of you have

somethinga story, a thought, or just a comforting wordthat you want to share. We want youto have the chance to tell us what Rikki meant to you, or to tell Rikki what she meant to you.

There are two microphones here up front. We invite you to come, as you feel led, to saysomething to or about Rikki. We can take as much time as you need, so please dont feel like you

should keep your words to yourself. We want all of you to be able to remember Rikki, or to saygood-bye to her, if you think doing so would be appropriate for you. When it looks like everyone

who wants to has expressed themselves, I will come back up here to continue the service.

* * *


4/5


28 September 2012

After listening last night to your stories about Rikki, and after hearing your words this morning, I

am blessed to hear how much you loved my sister. Thank you. I take comfort from the love youshowed my sister; I take hope in knowing that she has found rest and peace and comfort and . . .

and life in the presence and the arms of Jesus Christ. I can only imagine the look on Rikkis faceas she experiences true life in Gods presence. I can only imagine the joy I will feel when I see

my sister again. I can only imagine the wonder on Rikkis face as she gazes fully into the gloryof God.

[I Can Only Imagine, 1999 Bart Millard]

ENDING THE SERVICE:

On a day not far enough back in the past, just a few miles down the 101, I had the honor ofjoining my sister in marriage to my brother-in-law. On that beautiful April afternoon I issued a

challenge to Justin. Heres what I said:

If I can offer one piece of advice on your wedding, Justin, let me say: Love Rikki the way

her father loves her. Lay everything you have on the line for her sake. Do everything youcan to fulfill her dreams. Give everything you are to help her be everything she can be.

Be a better husband than Ive been a brother. Love her the way her father loves her.

Today, I have a different honor. Today I get to look my brother-in-law in the eye and tell him,

Well done. You did it. You loved my sister to the end. You gave yourself to her through better,through worse; through richer, through poorer; in sickness, and in health. You kept your promise.

You have shown yourself a man of integrity. I know you will continue to love my sister from thisday forward. But today I want to tell you have kept your word. Thank you.

For the rest of us, let me leave you with a final word of encouragement. This is without a doubt

the hardest path Ive had to walk. I am filled with questions, and I have no answers. Why doyoung women get cancer? Why do parents bury their children? Why do husbands and brothersand friends and coworkers have to say good-bye to those they love? If I claimed to have answers,

I would be lying and the truth would not be in me. The truth is, I simply dont know. But Ibelieve in a God who is bigger than my questions. I believe in a God who sees beyond the

horizon of todays pain and who has promised that tomorrow brings blessings unimaginable. Ibelieve in a God who can take my doubt, my anger, my anguish, my pain, and who offers his

peace in the midst of these storms.

The words of the fourth stanza of the hymn, Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing, describe for

me the hope of that peace.

O to grace how great a debtor daily Im constrained to be!Let Thy goodness, like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to Thee.

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love;Heres my heart, O take and seal it, seal it for Thy courts above.

If you, like me, find your heart prone to wandering, may Gods goodness, like a fetter, bind us tohimself. Jesus death has overcome sin and death. Jesus resurrection is the guarantee oftrue life,

not just for Rikki but for all of us. As we remember Rikki Erin Bera, let us also take care for ourown lives. God offers each of us not just new life but true life, if we will take it. Let us pray.


5/5


28 September 2012

Father, we entrust into your care Rikki Erin Bera, beloved wife, daughter, sister, friend.

We admit we cannot understand why you took her from us so soon. But we thank you forgiving her to us so long. We pray our thoughts, our words, our hearts today have honored

her and you. Keep her memory burning inside us, like a fire that keeps us warm from thecold and gives us courage to face a new day. Give us faith to see hope in the darkness, to

feel love in the loneliness, to know peace in the chaos. And when all other words fail us,Father, give us the strength to say,

Our Father, who art in heaven,Hallowed be Thy name.

Thy kingdom come, thy will be done,On earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,And forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those who trespass against us.Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever.Amen.

My family would like to invite all of you to Greg and Pattis home for lunch. There are mapsavailable out in the foyer near the guest sign-in book. If you have any questions, please feel free

to come see me, and Ill do my best to get you pointed in the right direction. Again, thank you,on behalf of the Bera and Sommervold families, for the love and friendship you have shown my

sister.

May the LORD bless you and protect you.

May the LORD smile on you and be gracious to you.

May the LORD show you his favorand give you his peace. (Numbers 6.2426 NLT)

Documents

Order of Service (Funeral)