by Sr. Brenda Lisenby on October 11, 2020

“You will be the sunrise.”
These were the words that Jesus spoke to Sr. Mary Margaret one morning as she was at prayer and watching the sunrise. In her conversational prayer, she said she would miss the sunrise. And the response she heard was “You will BE the sunrise.”

Sister Mary Margaret

I only heard Sr. Mary Margaret share this story once, but I promised myself that when she died I would be there to greet her the next morning at the sunrise. I was able to honor that promise. The day after her death, I was down at the Mississippi River, sitting on the bluff between Plymouth and Broadway, awaiting the sunrise. It was glorious.

As I reflect on this story and the story she tells of her “Friend Who Rose from the Dead” I am moved by the theme of “rising” that is threaded throughout. She had a Friend Who Rose from the Dead, and now we, too, have a friend who rose from the dead as she has passed into her glory. I am reminded of this each day as I witness the rising of the sun.

Mary Margaret Sunrise
Mary Margaret Quote

 

Here you will find a collection of ways that we have celebrated Sr. Mary Margaret’s life: