Three Funerals And A Wedding

Its been challenging for me to write the last few weeks. Circumstances in my sphere of influence have taken my brain captive and made it hard to think, let alone write about anything appropriate for public consumption. Isn’t that how it goes with all of us? Our life occurs in cycles; seasons of joy, seasons of sorrow, seasons of tense trials, seasons of rest….

This weekend alone, my church has had three funerals and wedding. I’ve participated in some form or fashion in two of them. I’ve known family members of all three of the funerals. The events surrounding the funerals are unique and yet there is an almost tangible loss that hangs around like a thick fog. Its depressing. Even if you believe in heaven and believe your loved one is there, its still depressing.

On the upside, I got to spend time yesterday with some women who are several generations ahead of me. While we were preparing the food and table for one of the funeral families, I got to hear these ladies banter and chatter away. It was hysterical and completely wonderful. I have not enjoyed myself so much in quite some time. And while I reflected on my time with them, I thought of two things:

1) Not being alone during a hard time (in this case a funeral) makes all the difference in the world. We were ladies who, on a normal day, wouldn’t brush shoulders because our worlds were not typically connected. But yesterday we gathered together for a common purpose and the community we held was warm, and wonderful, and comforting. It made the fact we were there for a funeral bearable.

2) It is a BLESSING to spend time with people from different generations. For me, this particularly includes those of generations ahead of my own. To give you an idea of HOW FAR ahead they were, one of the ladies had directed my mother-in-law’s wedding. Their perspective and insight was priceless. Their humor was hilarious and contagious. I felt mentally and spiritually nourished and we never once opened a text book or Bible. There is something to be said for the Scripture that admonishes the older women to train up the younger women. The ladies I was with were not even trying to train me up and yet I felt I left a better person because of their company.

So, here’s to multi-generational gatherings and a promise to try and keep YOUR company a bit more consistently. I can’t promise it’ll happen immediately but I will try. I hope you all are doing well and living the real life.