There’s nothing like a good funeral.
Kind of a morbid statement, but so true. Funerals refocus us on life. They remind us of the legacy that we leave, the one that has nothing to do with bank accounts or wills. They bring people together who haven’t seen each other in far too long. And they serve as turning points and altars built in the pathways of our life. A good funeral — one that’s held after a life that’s well-lived — is a foretaste of all that is ahead for us, here and after.
I went to a good funeral today. It was the funeral of a lady that few in our large, very large, church had ever met. Fewer still of them would remember her name, or her contributions to our church. But sitting with her family, my friends, today, I remembered. I remembered a woman who gave even when she wasn’t always sure she wanted to give. Isn’t that the definition of sacrificial giving? I remembered a woman who used her last year of life — lived in pain — to get my friend’s finances in order and help dig her out of a pit that was too large for one person. I hosted a lunch for her family, and watched them enjoy themselves together, secure that Mom was dancing pain free, now.
It was a good funeral.
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Hey Marla- I loved the post today. You’re so right… “a good funeral-one that’s held after a life that’s well-lived-is a foretaste of all that is ahead for us”….. which I believe is thoroughly proved by a converse situation…. sadly, there’s no experience like attending a funeral of a person who’s life wasn’t well lived. It seems to leave the weirdest feeling of void, senselessness, and lack of closure in existence.
Never thought about it this way before but yeah, I guess if it was a life worth living, it’s worth celebrating! Funerals tend to make me a little more introspective than usual. But I still prefer them to baby showers!