Three Funerals and A Wedding

This time last week I was helping a dear friend decorate for her daughter's wedding. By the end of the week we will have attended three funerals. Wow! What an emotional roller coaster! Weddings, funerals, and the like have a real way of making me focus on what is really important in life. Funerals, in particular always make me think about what I'd like people to be able to say kindly about me when I pass! Our first funeral, on Monday, we attended in a small rural community senior citizen's center! When we arrived it was all set up as a potluck! Now that's a funeral! Since the elderly gentlemen was cremated, there was no need to decide whether he would be positioned at the head of the line or by the desserts! And I might say, it was the most amazing dessert table I've EVER seen at a potluck! Anyway, everyone enjoyed a wonderful meal which was followed by a few sweet songs, and inspirational words and verses from the pastor. The "floor" was then opened up for anyone to stand and say what dear Melvin had meant to them. Melvin was truly a kind, caring and gentle man. The words were indicative of how much he cared about people. Even in his eighties he had stopped to help someone in "need" who then stole his cellphone. Melvin's wife raised German Shepherds which is how we got acquainted with him. We had the privilege of having them in our home for Thanksgiving dinner one year. Melvin's "potluck funeral" ended in a flag ceremony by the local Veteran's of Foreign Wars. The shaky gentlemen completed the ceremony with great dignity, and I was thankful our society remembered those who served our country at their funerals. Mostly I went away wondering if people would speak of me as being a "kind" person when I pass.

This "Potluck Memorial Service" reminds me of a story I heard at the recent "Walk to Emmaeus" of which I was a part. The story goes that a lady asked that she be buried with a fork. "Why?" her family asked. Her explanation was that anytime she attended a nice meal, when the hostess took her plate away if she was told to "keep her fork" it meant that there was something better coming! The Marriage Supper of the Lamb is certainly something better coming!



The second service was not so pleasant. We shared in the grief of a precious little family whose sweet baby boy went to be with Jesus. Words cannot express the heartache we feel for them. I went away with a new reality of all our "nice and tidy" lives can be greatly disrupted with the reality of a fallen world and only Jesus can truly comfort us. What if we had no hope? I grieve for those who have no hope. I also went away with a lightening jolt of how I would feel if I had to say good bye to one of my three grand babies. It's too much to even ponder. I pray for their safety everyday, I always have.

Lastly, we will attend the celebration service of my pastor's father. He has been an incredible inspiration to me! His life is a testimony of the amazing power of God to change a man in an incredible way! Here is an exert from his obituary:

From 1985 - 2007, he devoted himself to short term missions. One of his favorite Bible verses was Proverbs 11:30 "The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise." In 1985, he took his first mission trip to Panama, then the following year to Honduras. From 1989 - 2006 he went to Mexico several times a year taking food, clothing, toys, and bibles. In November of 2007, he took his final mission's trip to Hong Kong, Vietnam, and China. From 1983-2008, he faithfully ministered in numerous jails and prisons having touched the lives of many inmates both adult and juvenile.
Henry's hobbies included spending time with his children and grandchildren, gardening, yard work, and traveling throughout the United States.
He was a faithful member of Legacy Life Family Church.

My fondest memory of was on Mother's Day, 2005. Our pastor had asked me to preach the Mother's Day service. When I arrived that morning Henry greeted my at the door and informed me he was going to anoint me and pray for me. He escorted me into the Pastor's office, gently touched my hands with oil, then held them and prayed for me. I could definitely sense the presence of the Lord! Another special occurrence was just a couple of months ago. Phil overheard a lady in our DWI class telling some other students that while she was in jail a man came to share the good news with the inmates. She said he had faithfully come three weeks in a row. She didn't want to have anything to do with him so she stayed back in the shadows. The third week he looked straight at her standing in the back, pointed at her and said, "Jesus needs you!" With joy in her voice and a smile on her face she proceeded to tell them she accepted Christ and it changed her life! Henry will truly be missed!!!! There is no doubt in my mind Saturday's celebration of Henry's life will be amazing indeed!