Each of us are here today because we have been uniquely impacted and loved by Robyn Besemann. It would be impossible to have known her and not recall a time that you didn’t feel loved by her. Robyn was life itself. She was full of love, joy, compassion, sass, excitement, wonder, hope, laughter, hospitality, oblivion, grace, forgiveness, sarcasm, and the most exquisite example of Jesus’s love many of us have ever known. She was ‘love’ personified; never to be duplicated, only to be admired and certainly now, never to be forgotten.

Robyn’s life story is one of intention, joy and faith. Robyn was born into a pastor's family; her father spent his life as a pastor and her mother served in various roles within the church and throughout the home. She was the 2nd oldest of 4 children, and perhaps the most mischievous and free spirited one of them all. I am confident in saying that some of Robyn's best memories, both as a child, and even more so as an adult, has Connie, Tim and Katey’s names written all over them. She had a special individual bond with each of them that settled into her bones early on, understanding and cherishing the fact that no matter what, family was the most important thing, and family shows up for each other no matter what. If you ask her what some of her best memories were with her siblings, at the top would, no doubt, be their annual sibling trips they took together over the years. She didn't even care where they were going; she only cared that they would all be together. Over the years, life pulled them all in different directions. But, the bonds remained strong, and when they found themselves all together again, it was Robyn's greatest wish that time would stand still.

After graduating high school and having dated Ivan for about 3 years, just after she turned 20, Robyn would marry the man she would spend the rest of her life with. On the evening of February 14, 1974, with her father proudly officiating their ceremony, they said ‘I do’ at the Manette Community Church in Bremerton Washington.

Robyn and Ivan were married for over 51 years; an accomplishment on paper and a legacy by God's design. They met in 1969, when Robyn was 15 years old; an obnoxious teenager jumping over the pews of the church her dad pastored at the time, and Ivan had just started attending. He was drawn to her energy, laughter and joy; traits of hers that could never be ignored by anyone, much less Ivan. It didn’t take long for him to realize she was everything he was looking for in a wife. But, she was too young and her dad asked him to wait until she was 16 before he would date her. So he waited…behind a line of young men that were waiting to date her too. And he waited, and he kept waiting patiently for her, until it was his turn. There was no question in his mind that she was worth the wait. And after 51 years of being together, he'd say she still is now.

In April 1976, they welcomed their son Scott; the absolute apple of Robyn’s eye and Ivan’s twin. Then in January 1978, they completed their family by welcoming their daughter Tami, who looked just like her mom and would soon become her shadow. Her whole life led up to these two little babies in her arms who she couldn’t wait to love, raise and grow up alongside. She adored her children and centered her life around giving them a childhood they would always remember with as many memories as she could pack into their little bodies and hearts. She was such a fun mom growing up too. The Walnut Lane house that Scott and Tami grew up in, was where their friends always wanted to be. She created a home filled with music, adventure, spontaneity, security, fun, acceptance, laughter and memories baked into every wall that held up the house they were blessed to call ‘home’ for 44 years.

One thing about Robyn; she didn't just love her family, she lived for them. Robyn was every good and perfect example of a life rooted in faith and family. She was the creator and the heart behind every family tradition we ever had, and will now carry on in her memory. She was the kind of mom and wife that created traditions and made memories without even trying. She was the center of our family’s world, whether we wished it differently or not. Her place in our family was coveted and nonnegotiable; she knew where she belonged and she wasn’t going anywhere. She covered us all in constant prayer, incredible support and enormous love, whether it was the tiniest of life updates, sad news, everyday happy news, accomplishments, failures, big life decisions or quiet struggles. And for what she couldn’t fix in person, she unleashed Amazon deliveries on us! From flavored popcorn salts to devotional books directing us back to Jesus, packages arrived when her hugs were too far away. She was there for it all, in person or otherwise; she wouldn’t have missed showing up for her family for anything in the world.

Many would say that her family was her pride and joy, and I would have to say that was true. She lived and breathed every good thing that happened to Scott, Tami and Ivan, and grieved every hardship that came their way too. She supported Ivan with her whole heart as he built his accounting firm from the ground up, and stood by him when he thought they would lose it all. As a young mom growing up alongside her kids, she was energetic, creative, fun, supportive, encouraging, nurturing, selfless and unapologetically protective. Ivan and Robyn decided long before they had kids that she would stay home to raise their children, while he would build his accounting firm to provide for his family. Robyn was present and available for every moment of her kid’s childhood, and the joy on her face showed just how grateful she was to be able to be. Every day after school, she was waiting for her kids at home, with a snack on the table, arms wide open for a hug, and ears to listen because she couldn’t wait to hear about their day. She was the very heart of our family home; the one person who championed for us all. Everything she did, that Ivan and Robyn worked for and did together, was for the wellbeing of our family and in her absence, that’s never been more clear.

Now, we all now see just how much Robyn loved her family. But, there’s one person she loved even more than them, and that was undoubtedly Jesus. Robyn's lifetime of ministry may be impossible to capture in all its forms, because she had her hand in everything she could when it came to reaching others for Christ and "loving them into the kingdom" as she would say often. Her ultimate goal was to ‘make heaven crowded.’ Through the years, she led multiple bible studies, founded and operated L.I.F.E Aerobics; a Christian music based exercise class, played roles and sang in many of the various Easter and Christmas plays at Twin Rivers Baptist. While raising her children and being a full time homemaker, she began her professional music ministry where she wrote, sang and produced her first of three albums. She may have released those 3 albums as an adult, but Robyn had been singing her whole entire life. Her music ministry really began before she could even hold a mic in her hand as a little girl, singing in the churches her father pastored. She had the voice of an angel that entranced us all, and made us all want to know and grow closer to the God she was so passionately singing about and worshipping. When she had the microphone, it was just her singing to her Savior; we were just a witness to her great love for Him through song.

As her children grew up and became adults themselves, Robyn rediscovered her love for young children when she became the ‘Camp Mom’ at Camp Harlow, ministering, doting and loving on all the children who stepped into camp, with little life stories all their own; stories that Robyn always wanted to hear from every child that would share. She came across many children who were homesick, scared, and unsure; many away from their parents for the first time. Enter ‘Camp Mom’ Robyn; she fixed it all with her hugs, kisses, candies, sweet songs, and prayers. She showed up when she didn't have to, and didn't leave until the child she held in her arms felt safe. Through the years, the evidence of her love for all those children at Camp Harlow was when she would come home every night, with stickers on her face, wearing a tear soaked shirt from holding the hurting children that needed the comfort only she could give.

As her love for hurting children and families took root at Camp Harlow, especially single parent families, it didn't take much for Robyn to see that God was leading her in a new direction of ministry. And as she always did before, she walked ahead and blindly trusted what God had in store for her to do next. In obeying the call, she would go on to lead multiple ministries including Family Connections, Divorce Care for Kids, Divorce Care for Teens, and create, write, and publish a life changing curriculum called ‘Chained No More.’ Through those ministries, she not only led countless unbelievers to Christ, but her curriculum and presence helped heal years of trauma and abuse that were left untouched and unspoken about for years. She watched as her participants stepped into the world healed, with fresh eyes, knowing and believing their worth was solely in who God said they were. She didn't just change lives; she saved them too. And for every life changed and every life saved, she gave all the glory to God for using her to do His work in others.

In every avenue of ministry that was set before her, she didn't just walk, she ran at a pace that signified purpose, with a heart ready to carry the burden of anyone who needed someone just to be near. She stepped into every role and room with a mission to serve, love and encourage. She looked for every open door that she could walk through because my goodness, her love for the God she spent her life serving was never to be kept to herself. With every need, every hurt, every request, and every invitation to share Jesus with others, you never had to ask her twice or wonder where she was. She was with you, with me, with us all, right when we needed her the most. Her ability to include those that didn't know where they belonged was unmatched. There was ALWAYS a seat at her table for you.

While she spent her life in so many aspects of ministry, she'd never say her greatest accomplishment was her books or her albums. She loved writing and singing, and she was gifted in both, no doubt. But truly if asked, she'd say her greatest accomplishment within her ministry was each face and every heart she impacted for Christ along the way. She didn't need the books or the albums; she felt called to them and wanted to create another pathway for us all to feel connected to our Heavenly Father. But it was each of our souls that mattered more than any material thing she created, because walking others to the foot of the cross was her mission, not her notoriety as an author and songwriter.

Without argument, Robyn’s greatest signature in her ministry was her ability to fervently love, even when it felt like too much because our hurting or distant hearts couldn't receive the amount of love she had to offer. Even now, with a tear in her eye and a smile on her face, she would say "I loved you, and I had the best of intentions", and I promise you, she truly did. Love; that was her ministry and because of her impact on each of our lives, it's what we can carry with us on the heavy days when we miss her the most. Remember her smile, her contagious laugh, her nickname for you, her voice, her sarcasm, her hugs and her angelic singing voice. Let those memories flood your heart and mind, and take just a moment to praise God that she is free, whole and healthy once again. She is with the God she spent her entire life loving and serving with everything she had in her, right up to the very end.

We will collectively love, miss and remember Robyn now for the rest of our lives. She would never ask you not to feel your feelings; she found herself crying when the loss of loved ones flooded her heart and soul too. Loss of a loved one, one loved as much as Robyn is, it hurts deeply, and it's painful and it's visceral on the hardest of days. But what she would tell you and me is that when those tears fall, when that hurt is raw, and the pain overtakes your body like a flood, remember to thank God that He kept His promise, that He brought her home and made her whole again, just like He said He would. And that promise He made to her is the same promise He makes to each of us, who accept Christ into our hearts and make the decision to live for Him.

Please take this with you today, as you remember Robyn and the treasure she was to us all: with every memory you have of her, remember her love …because love....love was the most beautiful word to describe her entire life and how she chose to live it. Love for Jesus. Love for me. Love for you. Love for life. Just love. Always love.

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