A Memorable Memorial
An extended relative of mine held a memorial service for their mother this week. The service was beautiful and summed up the life of her mother elegantly. Altogether, from what I knew and from what others said of her, she was a very sweet lady, a great mother and an amazing wife.
While sitting there listening to the speakers, there were several items that stuck out to me. I felt compelled to jot down a few of them for my memory and maybe, just maybe, someone else would appreciate them as well.
Seeing someone my age lose their mother hit me pretty hard. Let’s face it: my parents aren’t getting any younger. As they recently said themselves, they aren’t exactly spring chickens. We all have an appointed time for when we’ll meet our Maker; however, I selfishly want to hold on to my parents for as long as I can. They’ve been so wonderful to me and my brother. They’ve raised us to respect people, love our wives and kids, and have always done anything they could to help out when help was needed. When God does call them home, I’m going to miss them. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t call or Facetime with them so they can see the kids. I'll often call just to talk or shoot the breeze. My favorite fishing buddy is my dad. I consider him my best friend, aside from my wife of course. We've hunted, fished and played ball for more than thirty years! My mom is one of the most understanding and encouraging people in the world. She loves her family so much that she’d literally walk through hell with gasoline soaked britches to save us. That's the truth.
Mom and dad, I know you don’t have a whole heck of a lot of control as to when your day comes to go home; however, take your time. Please know that I’m so thankful for everything you’ve ever done for me. I love you guys so much and I appreciate who and what you are. My wife, my kids, and I love both of you dearly.
Okay, enough of that kind of talk.
At the funeral this past week, the best friend of the deceased spoke at the podium. She described how lovely her friend was as a wife, mother, and a follower of Christ. The preacher that spoke after her even said that there was nothing left to say due to her representing her friend so well. While she was finishing up her prepared speech, the kids in the audience were starting to get antsy. There were probably seven or eight kids under the age of seven in the pews, all of which were about at their attention span limit. One of the sons of the deceased was about to walk out with his son who was getting fussy, when something happened that I will never forget.
The best friend of the deceased actually stopped her speech, walked down from the podium, and begged the son and his family not to leave. She stated that the deceased was used to fussy kids and that she wouldn’t have minded the children becoming unruly. That gave everyone a little chuckle. The son, his wife, and their child returned to their seat and stayed the rest of the memorial service.
This may not seem like that big of a deal; however, it moved my heart. This woman, speaking at her best friend’s memorial service, literally left her post, stepped down to the ones who felt they should leave, and begged them to stay for her mother’s sake.
I almost lost it.
I was broken. I’m not saying I was sobbing or anything; but, there were tears in my eyes. I have the utmost respect for that lady for being able to stop what she had planned to say in order to keep the son of the deceased from leaving his mother’s memorial. I will not soon forget that moment.
Finally, I had thoughts that I believe many people have while attending a memorial service. Those thoughts and questions all seemed to be centered around one main question:
How will I be remembered by my family and friends?
Like I alluded to before, we all have our appointed time to meet our Maker. I am no different than any other mortal human and I know that my last day will come eventually. I want my wife and children to remember me with love after I pass on. If they remember nothing else about me, I want them to remember how I loved them so. There will be tough times. There will be tough love given. I know I will make mistakes. At the end of my days, I want to be remembered as a good daddy, a good husband, and a disciple of Jesus.
Since the memorial service this past weekend, I’ve noticed myself holding on to my family's hugs a little longer, asking for more kisses from my kids, and cherishing the little moments more than ever. I don’t know when the Lord is going to punch my time card; but when He does, I want to have lived and loved to the fullest. Yeah, that may sound a little cliche; but it’s true. I hope to leave no regrets, give all my love to my family, and then finally join the ranks of heaven when my time has come.