Our lives intersected in a unique way. I became pastor of Crossroads Amsterdam in late 2000. I had known Victor and Christa a bit before then, but only vaguely. When I became pastor I got to know them because of a life-threatening illness that Ephraim had.
In those first months of 2001 we prayed for Ephraim, they sought medical care, we all cried out to God for him. In June Christa asked if she could be baptized at Crossroads, which I had the privilege of doing. It was something of a statement of her faith as well as the faith of her family. I remember speaking to Christa before her baptism and was amazed at the depth of her faith in Christ.
In the fall of 2001 Ephraim died and we as a community mourned the tragedy with the Rosiers. I was an unseasoned pastor trying to figure out how to shepherd a flock which happened to have a series of deaths that year. Some people thought me courageous, others that I was a spiritual infant. Perhaps there was a bit of truth in both.
And now 10 years later Christa has also gone to be with Jesus. I can only imagine she and Ephraim worshipping the Lord together - what a scene! It brings me great comfort and hope. This mother and son who followed Jesus and who now live the words of the Revelation, "there will be no more tears."
In the past 10 years since Ephraim's death, Christa has painted impressions from various Psalms (see her website at www.christarosiernl). The painting in this post is from Psalm 126 - an image of she and Ephraim with sheer joy in their eyes. It is magnificent.
And so today I write in honor of Christa Rosier today - daughter of the King, wife to Victor, mother to Rachel and Ephraim, friend to many.
I never met Christa personally, but I had the honor of corresponding with her by email in November 2010. I was at a very sad point in my life and while reading Bible, God put in my heart the desire to record Psalm 91. A friend suggested that I put the recording on YouTube. Knowing that I needed some image to go with it, I did an internet search and found Christa's Psalm Paintings website. I wrote to her and told her my story. Christa graciously allowed me to feature her painting in my video.
ReplyDeleteI have since recorded and made videos for 7 of the Psalms of King David, using the beautiful paintings that the Lord inspired Christa to create.
My heart goes out to Victor and Rachel and all of Christa's friends and family. I am a person that her life and Ephraim's touched in a very big way, thanks to God's allowing our paths to cross via the internet. I am in California, USA.
Ashton Clarke Rice
I hope that the family will be blessed by and allow me to continue using Christa's work in my videos. Here is that first one I did, Psalm 91, with Christa's work:
http://www.youtube.com/user/ashtonrice?feature=mhum#p/u/6/dpZ8gbaWaUI
her work is magnificent and will live on to tell her joy!
ReplyDelete