Today I went to one of the most God-honoring, Christ-centered, faith affirming funerals I have ever experienced. Honestly, I am tired of friends dying (Steve Hobbs, Ralph Green, others, and now Allan), but I know that as you grow older, it increasingly happens. But I must say with Ecclesiastes, better is it to go to the house of mourning than to the house of feasting. In the house of mourning (at funerals) things get refocused and put into proper perspective. It is easy to lose sight of the things that matter most when feasting and celebrating, but not when mourning over yet another dead loved one. Allan Fongeallaz funeral was actually very faith affirming. From the moment you walked in, listening to piped in music that built the faith; if you paid attention to the lyrics (they seemed carefully chosen to reflect Allan and Rosemarys faith). I also was deeply inspired by Rosemarys amazing speech shared at her own husbands funeral. She shared what was on her heart and mind about God, faith, prayer and suffering; reaching out to comfort others, in a time when it would have been perfectly fine for her to sit there and be comforted, saying nothing. She comforted me with that amazing speech! Pastor Nathans message reiterated and reinforced some powerful truths shared by Rosemary, and then we watched a standard video of pictures of Allan and his family and friends enjoying each other, but what was different was that Wayne Watsons song Home Free was played in the background (https://youtube/watch?v=G6l1kpJ0x5k). It brought tears to my eyes. This is a song that, for years, I have said I want played at my funeral. It acknowledges the pain and uncertainty of suffering and the challenge of praying, but affirms the hope that we have that when we finally die, we will be home free and experience the ultimate healing. Finally, Allans oldest son played and sang a song so appropriate to Allans life a man, and one of the Lords finest soldiers, who lived well and died well. In the house of mourning, as I said, you learn. God taught me that while He does not answer all our whys He is yet all-wise and thus can be trusted, though not always understood. I want to thank the Fongeallaz, especially Rosemary, and no doubt Allan, who must have been thinking about what he wanted said and sung at his impending funeral. It was sad, but I learned and grew as a result of it.
Posted on: Tue, 02 Dec 2014 05:05:59 +0000
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