Ryan C. Archer, 1989-2008
Today I did something no one should ever have to do. I went to a funeral for a 19-year-old.
Trust me, your day just can't get much worse than that.
He was dirt biking last Thursday and hit a telephone pole. Was able to call 911 and his mom (my coworker). His older sister went with him in the ambulance, and his parents followed in their car.
Unfortunately, his injuries were more serious than the paramedics thought, or they would have airlifted him.
He died in the ambulance.
If there is one thing more heartbreaking than watching parents at a child's funeral, it's listening to teenagers talk about their best friend who is laying in a casket a few feet away.
The pastor gave a good sermon, to a point. He had an interesting interpretation of the 23rd Psalm that I hadn't heard before:
In the first few verses, David talks about God in the Third Person: "The Lord is my shepherd", etc.
But when he talks about walking through "the valley of the shadow of death", he changes to talking directly to God: "You are with me".
This can be interpreted to mean that, when we walk through the shadow of death, God is close to us.
I like that interpretation a lot.
(Incidentally, if you've never read "A Shepherd Looks At Psalm 23" by Phillip Keller, it's a great read.)
However, I didn't like it when the pastor started evangelizing during the sermon ("Ryan accepted Jesus as his Savior when he was 9. Do you know where you're going when you die?" and on and on). Funerals are no place for altar calls. If he had said something like "Ryan's passing may raise some questions about your faith. If you want to talk to me afterwards, I'm available", that's fine. But he went on about it for too long. He should have kept the focus on Ryan. So, make of note of that, you few readers: at my funeral, NO sales pitches for God. And, while we're at it, NO OPEN CASKET. That's just... ghastly, in my opinion. In fact, I want to be creamated after donating my usable organs, but that's a whole nuther Oprah show.
So what do I know about Ryan? He loved to have fun. He loved -- and was loved by -- his parents and his sister. He didn't go through the typical rebellious stage that most teens do, save for a short period where he called his parents by their first names (they responded by calling him Mister Archer.) He was fiercely loyal to his friends, and never had a bad word to say about anybody. And now he's in heaven.
At the start of the service, they played "Dust in the Wind", by Kansas. We all know the words, so I won't post them here.
But, Ryan, if you're out there, buddy, you aren't dust in the wind. You had a life, and you had a purpose, and you were loved.
That's a lot more than dust.
Rest in peace, my young friend. Rest in God's peace.