Experiencing a different kind of reunion
- col-dave-mast
- April 18, 2025
- 574
For many years, the family of Abe and Ester Mast has gathered together to celebrate family reunion style, led by the couple’s siblings Kenny, Marilyn, Bertie, Wanda and Abe.
The Mast gathering has always been a lively, fun-packed gathering with plenty of love, laughter and food to go around to the dozens and dozens of children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and anyone else who might happen to wander in off the street.
While Marilyn passed away from cancer several decades ago, the rest of the Mast children have lived wonderfully long lives, which made for plenty of shared memories being bandied about whenever the clan got together.
However, this past week, the family lost two of its living members, Kenny, 99, and Wanda, 94, leaving Bertie, 96, and Abe, 87, as the surviving duo of children.
In attending Wanda’s funeral, plenty of stories were shared in what was a richly honest and wonderful look back at Wanda’s life.
Throughout the service, one common thread came to light, that being Wanda’s sheer passion for sharing God’s love for us and Christ’s sacrifice. Story after story talked about how that personal mission was a vital part of her life.
What an incredible legacy to leave behind, being known for sharing her faith without reservation.
Wanda enjoyed 94 years of a life well-lived and is now rewarded with the ultimate prize, her journey here through, her life in heaven now beginning.
Son-in-law Nathan Spencer said during the service, “Jesus is where the Joy is,” something he related to Wanda’s life.
“We grieve because we miss but rejoice because there is peace… peace for her and peace for us knowing she has reached the ultimate goal,” Spencer said.
While the family knew this to be true, what was really inspiring was how many people from the Otterbein Senior Living facility in Lebanon came to the funeral.
There was an impressive number of people there who came to the funeral to pay their respects. So many members from her community showed up for the funeral because they had gotten to know and love Wanda.
This simple fact proves one thing: It shows the importance of community, relationships and finding joy in being around people who mean something to us.
Having friends around regularly is a true blessing because they help us grow, thrive, feel inspired, feel wanted, important and, above all, loved.
I was truly touched by the incredible turnout of the Otterbein senior community. It helped me understand that facilities like this aren’t places where our elderly go to simply finish life; they go there to cherish and live life with the same exuberance they did in days gone by.
Wanda was always extremely active and remained so at Otterbein until her final day in this world.
The other important fact family and friends talked openly about was how in her later years, Wanda was questioning her own faith despite being so devoutly committed to sharing the message of God’s love and Christ’s sacrifice to anyone and everyone within earshot.
For someone of her faith to even consider and question her commitment to Christ made me think of one thought.
I figure that was Satan’s last-ditch effort to sway her to the dark side, a mission in which he failed miserably as he tried to embed seeds of doubt in Wanda, who swatted them aside and left this world victorious because her faith overpowered Satan’s feeble attempts.
Part of that success story was due to her children, especially her daughters Deb and Beth, who helped her regain her footing when the slippery slope of doubt seeped in.
Part of that was her friends at Otterbein, who continued to encourage her even as she encouraged them.
Wanda left this mortal realm the way she wanted to, the way God wanted her to, proclaiming Christ’s reign as Lord and Savior as the ultimate free gift of salvation.
That leads us to this new reunion, where she joins her sister Marilyn, her brother Kenny, whose funeral is yet to come, her mother and father, other family members who have passed prior and many new family members who are rejoicing with her in heaven today and forever more.
That is a family reunion everyone should deeply desire to attend, and chances are good that Wanda will be right there at the gates of heaven, greeting people, telling them about the wonderful things that await them inside.