This morning I donned a clerical collar for the third day in a row, something that I have done perhaps once or twice in many years of ministry. I usually put on a clerical shirt just for funerals and three days in succession is a rarity, thank God. I will conduct the third this afternoon, this one for an 89-year-old who has shown amazing resilience through the years but finally succumbed to the illnesses of aging. I got up feeling as though I had been wrung right out. It isn't just presiding at services, it is the intense preparation and emotional strain. An hour at the gym actually helped.
Yesterday the service at St. Paul's attracted close to 300 people as we commended 36-year-old David to God's care. We heard three powerful tributes to a man who had struggled with mental illness for a decade. The family demonstrated tremendous grace in their honesty about a son and brother, and considerable tenderness as they lauded his strengths.
I wondered how many people they ministered to in their grief: those who have gone through similar circumstances, or wrestle themselves with mental illness, or are bewildered as to why someone with so many gifts chose this path. We should be grateful to them for the strength they shared in the midst of fragility.
1 comment:
amen...and shalom.
Post a Comment