Seth Barnes Apr 28, 2009 8:00 PM

A profile in courage: Peggy Buller

How would you respond to losing your daughter? I can't imagine a more horrific thing. When the call went to Dwight and Peggy Buller that their daughte...

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How would you respond to losing your daughter? I can't imagine a more horrific thing. When the call went to Dwight and Peggy Buller that their daughter Sarah had been in a terrible car accident in South Africa and didn't survive, they had just returned from church.

Their whole community of 750 in rural Minnesota mourned with them. And despite the searing pain, Dwight and Peggy were determined that God be glorified in her passing. Everything they've done since then has been to that end. They held a community memorial service attended by everyone in town and many from out of town. They communicated her heart for serving Jesus to all that have sent their condolences.

And if you talk to them about Sarah, their conversations always point to God and his redemptive purposes in this tragedy.

Yesterday, Peggy flew to Atlanta to hug the necks of Sarah's returning teammates. She brought Sarah's sister, Rachel, with her. Rachel wants to carry the banner that Sarah carried by going to the nations with the gospel as Sarah did. And she is here to signal that commitment.

This morning, Peggy shared with our staff here in Gainesville. We were overwhelmed by her courage. Rather than focus on her own pain, she pointed us to our common commitment to Jesus and to build his kingdom. We listened to her, prayed with her and Rachel, and heard God speaking through her pointing us to look at him and to continue fighting the good fight.

Afterward, I cooked lunch for them at our home and we had a nice time sharing on the porch. I plan to go up and visit the whole family in another month or so. Dwight is a farmer and he's promised to put me to work on the piece of property that Sarah used to take care of.

What an inspiration they are to us all. Their example gives us the opportunity to look at the quality of our faith and ask, "If I were in their shoes, how would I respond?" I pray that I'd respond as Peggy and Dwight have.

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