Funeral Funnies

I've had a lot of funeral experience since moving to Florida. Always I am amazed by the beauty of death -- how people are able to know when it's time to breathe their last and how there is no anxiety but simply a willingness to let go and allow something larger than themselves to embrace them in a larger reality.

One man called me last Thursday to tell me he was ready to die. He had been talking with God quite a bit and felt, having lived a full life, that his weak body was finally ready to be finished. As openly as a couple of women sitting around chatting about tea, he told me that his body would be cremated -- knowing that it would happen most likely within a couple of weeks. He told me he was ready to see his Creator and that he was also ready for his wife to be able to live her life without worrying about him day in and day out. Then the three of us -- me, his wife, and him -- talked about his memorial service. I asked him what music he'd like and he responded with the popular funeral music of the day -- "amazing grace" and "in the garden." His wife tried to get him to have the "old rugged cross" but he specifically said "no." He didn't want that one. Then, from his dying body, he began to sing in a beautiful baritone, "On a hill far away, stood an old Chevrolet." Immediately I conjured up an image of a poor beat up Chevy, the emblem of suffering and shame.

The man passed away on Sunday, just as he had planned. And as I met with his son yesterday, I was able to make him smile through his tears, by singing his father's song. I'm sure he's got the angels giggling now.