The hardest day ever.
I've been to quite a few funerals.
For great-grandparents who died of old age,
For my grandmother who died of cancer,
For one of my oldest and best friends who died in a car accident,
For a family friend who drowned,
I've never been to a funeral for a baby. Today was the hardest day ever.
The church was so full it overflowed into the hall and filled the hall as well! That was where I was and thankfully, they had set up a TV with a live feed from the church. The whole thing went off without a hitch and we all tried to hold it together through the two beautiful songs, "Rock of Ages" and "In Christ Alone" but when the little boy's father picked up his coffin and carried it down the aisle, it was too much.
I was really proud of our Minister who got through the service quite well. I can't imagine how he and his wife are feeling, with a 3 week old baby at home.
It was a hard day, but at the same time, the first day of healing. We had many non-Christians there and it was wonderful to have them hear our Minister's message - he spoke of the real hope we have through Jesus of eternal life with Him. He talked about how people like to blame God when things go wrong but that the fact is that it's because of our sin that death is on earth. I hope that the message was clear to everyone.
Anyway, I got to have a small chat with my friend and to give her a hug. I hadn't seen her since beforehand so it was tough. But I'd promised myself not to cry and I shook like a leaf but thankfully held it together. I could see that her smile was fixed and her hug was tired. I'm really proud of my friends' bravery to be able to get through this day. If it were me, I'd be a wretched, blubbering mess on the floor. But I also know that the man and woman I knew will never completely be the same again.
The next challenge is normality. When does it start again?
For great-grandparents who died of old age,
For my grandmother who died of cancer,
For one of my oldest and best friends who died in a car accident,
For a family friend who drowned,
I've never been to a funeral for a baby. Today was the hardest day ever.
The church was so full it overflowed into the hall and filled the hall as well! That was where I was and thankfully, they had set up a TV with a live feed from the church. The whole thing went off without a hitch and we all tried to hold it together through the two beautiful songs, "Rock of Ages" and "In Christ Alone" but when the little boy's father picked up his coffin and carried it down the aisle, it was too much.
I was really proud of our Minister who got through the service quite well. I can't imagine how he and his wife are feeling, with a 3 week old baby at home.
It was a hard day, but at the same time, the first day of healing. We had many non-Christians there and it was wonderful to have them hear our Minister's message - he spoke of the real hope we have through Jesus of eternal life with Him. He talked about how people like to blame God when things go wrong but that the fact is that it's because of our sin that death is on earth. I hope that the message was clear to everyone.
Anyway, I got to have a small chat with my friend and to give her a hug. I hadn't seen her since beforehand so it was tough. But I'd promised myself not to cry and I shook like a leaf but thankfully held it together. I could see that her smile was fixed and her hug was tired. I'm really proud of my friends' bravery to be able to get through this day. If it were me, I'd be a wretched, blubbering mess on the floor. But I also know that the man and woman I knew will never completely be the same again.
The next challenge is normality. When does it start again?