By Today I sang at funeral with several other choir members. Ron, a tenor in our choir, passed away unexpectedly. Ron always had a smile on his face and always said hi to me when I walked in the choir room. I know Ron is in Heaven, which is a much better place to be than on this earth, so I’m happy for him. But it hurts to see his family grieving. I remember very clearly the heartache I felt at the funeral for my mom in 2014 and then my dad in 2017.
As is my tendency, I got over-reflective. I started to think – Who would come to my funeral? Would anyone speak and if they would, what would they say? How would I like to be remembered?
I read somewhere about how you should think about your life as a blockbuster movie. I started to write something…but I can’t quite picture how my movie ends. This girl didn’t get the guy and live happily ever after…so I’ve got to come up with something! Girl meets dog?
Anyway, back to Ron. Ron was a gardener. Almost everyone at the funeral who spoke about him talked about his gardening – planting seeds and helping them to grow and thrive and then giving plants or seeds to others as gifts. I’m not much of a gardener (I killed 2 air plants), but it made me think about what seeds I’ve planted.
When I worked at my various employers, I helped people grow. I was pretty good at seeing the diamonds in the rough and helping them polish up. Today I don’t have as many opportunities now that I’m semi-retired. But that is no excuse. I am going to make a concerted effort (and hopefully you’ll hold me accountable) to plant seeds of Christian joy and happiness and love. And as Dr. Gil and Reverend Tom say at every baptism, Faith is better caught than taught.
I hope you’ll consider doing the same.
