When Memorial Services Are Bittersweet

Today we celebrated the life of a dear friend. After her fourth battle with cancer, G was taken home to be with Jesus on Valentine's Day.

Personally I enjoy funerals and memorial services. It's not a morbid fascination, but it is fascinating nonetheless. On earth we live in a plane of existance that is different than that of heaven. When someone I know moves from this life on earth and goes to the next, I can sense that these two planes of existance are intersecting; I feel very close to God at these moments.

Our lives on earth can be so intermingled with those of others, and in the case of G, this was very much so. G and her mother were once members of our church choir. G's sister, by the way, is married to one of my closest childhood friends.

My friend, A, lived down the street from me. We were in the same grade in school, and we had been classmates from first through eighth grade. A's family was a strong Christian family - every single one of them. They were active in their Baptist church and took me along once in a while. At home, they walked the walk as much (if not more) as they talked unashamedly the talk.

I call this blog the Signpost Chronicles as there have been many signposts along the path of my life. These people were the ones at Milepost One. These are the people that planted the seed of the Holy Spirit in me.

I was a tough nut to crack. It took a long time for me to truly accept Christ in my heart; when I was a mere lad of 14 years of age, I really wasn't ready. A and I went to different high schools - he went to a Christian high school, and I continued in the public school system. I admit that I was somewhat relieved.

But God never left me and kept throwing signposts along the way. Eventually I did embrace Christ as my Lord and Savior, and I continue to grow.

A and I have run into each other occassionally over the years. But today was different. They were all there - A and his entire family. I hadn't seen most of them in over 30 years. It goes without saying that we were overjoyed to see each other.

I heard it said one time that God sometimes calls us to plant seeds for shade trees that we will never sit under. Well, today was an exception for my friends. They had planted a seed, and today they got to sit in it's shade.

Today was like one of the best days ever.