A New Day

It's over. The funeral, I mean. And the most I can say about it is that it was an adventure. A little bit of everything to entertain. There were, of course, the distant (and not so distant) relatives with their, "I remember when you were this big...." And the, "Oh, you look just like your dad." And, "You look just like your mom." And the really strange one, "You look like your dad from here up and your mom from here down." What? Then there were the stories that I just would rather not have heard -- and I won't ever put them in print! Tears flowed. Laughter echoed through the funeral home. There were lots of hugs and "I'm sorry for your loss." There were the ever-present, "She looks so good!" "It looks just like her." I know people mean well, but she didn't look good. She didn't look like herself. In fact, I'm already planning for the day that my body lies in that casket and someone comes up and says, "It looks just like him." I think I will sit up and smack them. God never intended for our lifeless bodies to look like us. It is just an empty shell. I personally believe that it is our soul that makes us who we are -- I think it even helps us look like us. Is that crazy? I don't think so. There is one more thought I would like to share with you concerning the funeral. At times like this, family is important. I have the greatest family in the world. They walked with me through these difficult days and made me laugh when I wanted to cry. And my church family -- they are the best. The cards, the food, the flowers they have sent were topped only by their prayers and their presence. Words cannot express how much I appreciated them. And so now it dawns, a new day full of the adventure called life. Don't you just love what God does for us everyday?