Yesterday I was aware that two sets of people with whom I was working were nervous for very different reasons. In the early afternoon I conducted a funeral for an 85-year-old woman who died peacefully, in her sleep in fact. Her family had to gather from different communities and the snowfall was an issue. This mother, grandmother, great-grandmother was loved and honoured by her family. Although she had Alzheimer's she knew her loved ones to the last. She and her husband had shared many years of marriage, and I had his funeral shortly after I arrived in Bowmanville.
In the early evening I was conducting a wedding rehearsal and again the prospect of snow was an issue. This is a lovely young couple in their twenties, about to set out in life together. I got them to stand in worship last Sunday and they were beaming.
As I have said before, it is a strange and poignant contrast when these rites of passage coincide. The "hatch, match and dispatch" events bring to mind the fleeting nature of life, but also the richness of the lives we share. It is good to know that God, Alpha and Omega, beginning and end, is there in all things.
Comments?
2 comments:
No comment. Just want to say what a nice blog...thanks David.
I have to agree with Lynn.
Your posting also brought me back to a fond memory from my university days. I was out for a walk in the Kingston cold (c. 1999, or so) when I stopped for a moment or two in front of the old Catholic church in the older part of town.
I believe it was built prior to Confederation, and I remember thinking about the countless number of important events in peoples' lives that had taken place under that roof; all of the baptisms, weddings, funerals and the like.
It was one of those times where the power of the moment literally, truly blew my mind. Thanks for triggering a nice trip down memory lane, David.
Post a Comment