Waiting To Go Home

I don't like funerals, never have. I guess I can honestly say that I don't know anyone who does. It's a place where I don't feel comfortable. It's not that I'm afraid of the dead body; it's just that more times than not, I don't know what to say. "I'm sorry" seems so insignificant. But I go anyway like many of you, to let the family know that I love them, that I'm thinking about them, that they're not traveling this road alone.

When one that's so special to you leaves this life, it's a difficult time. It's a journey as a spouse, a parent, a child, a grandchild that carries with it a mixed bag of emotions. It has a sadness that's indescribable, probably a sadness like you've never experienced before. At the same time, there's a gratefulness to the Father of all because there really is comfort in Him for the child of God. As a matter of fact, He is the only real comfort during this time.

The mind's eye can give us a clear picture of what it will be like for those servants of God when they leave this earth. The one who has had such difficulty doing the average, everyday things, the one whose body was sick or diseased, the one whose thoughts were jumbled, will no longer have to struggle with those physical ailments.  All of that will be gone. They will be in a place of peace and comfort for the time being, waiting on the return of their Lord.

When speaking of his wife after her death, one elderly gentleman said that he knew she wouldn't come back to this earth even if she could. The place where she was resting was so much better.

Our daughter that we were privileged to gain when our son married last year lost her grandpa recently. Two of my sweet friends, her mom and her aunt, lost their dad. Her grandma lost her husband. He was a good man, a godly man from what I knew. I felt their sadness, relief and gratefulness all at the same time. Even though the emptiness that was left by his death is prominent now, it will begin to fade with each passing day and will be replaced by good memories and funny stories of the one that they loved so. More importantly, they will now think of their dad, their grandpa and husband in a different light - not one whose body is frail and whose mind is confused but one who is in Abraham's bosom waiting to go home and be with his Lord...just like my mom. A more precious thought doesn't exist.