A Fun-eral?

I would suspect that the majority of people view funerals as a sad, depressing reality of life.  Your loved one has passed on and you think of all the moments you will no longer share with him/her.  Well, in our family, we have looked at them in a much different way.  We look at funerals as a time to celebrate the deceased’s life.  Though we mourn the loss, we flip it around to focus on how that person was a blessing to all that knew him/her. 

For example, my Dad, who was the greatest man I ever knew, came down with lung cancer about 10 years back.  He was only 60.  He and my Mom have been my heroes my whole life, I couldn’t ask for any better parents, by the way.  Well, even though Dad was a military man, very strict and stern, he was also full of love and life.  He joked constantly.   My sister used to buy him funny gifts.  One year, she bought him a little box that when you walked by it, it would begin to knock and shake and a voice yelled out, “Excuse me! Excuse me! Will you let me outta here?”  Dad thought that was the greatest thing and set it up in the house so everyone could experience it. 

Dad took all the recommended treatments and even a few that were just experimental, but it became apparent that nothing was working.  When he knew there was no longer hope of him being cured in this life, he decided that he was going to have the last laugh, so he set out to plan his own funeral.   After deciding he would be cremated, he then spoke to our Pastor about how he wanted the service to go.  The Pastor was hesitant to do what he wanted, but Dad made him agree to it and filled us in on the plan.

So, after battling cancer for about a year, the day came that my Dad passed on.  For weeks, maybe months before it happened, I balled almost every moment I was alone, begging for a different outcome.  Imagining life without him was just horrifying.  But, the day of his funeral, I felt an unexpected calmness.  Partly denial, I suppose, and partly taking comfort in knowing he was now at peace. 

There were tons of people at the church.  People were standing all around even out the door because the church was full.  His urn was displayed in the front with a picture of him and an American flag nicely folded next to that.  The Pastor began the funeral and said at one point that Dad had asked him to do something that would make this funeral one they wouldn’t soon forget.  As the church sat silently waiting for the Pastor to go on, he nervously stepped behind the urn and suddenly, “Excuse me! Excuse me! Would you let me outta here?” echoed through the silence.  The shock on people’s faces for the moment before the laughter and tears broke out was hilarious.  We pictured Dad watching on saying “Ha! I got them!”  Next came tons of funny stories from people in the crowd about the times they shared with Dad.  Truly a celebration of his life.

There comes a time in life when we have to decide if we’re going to live it.  That looks like an incomplete thought, but go read it again.  If you, like my Dad, knew death was creeping up on you, how would you react?  What would you do differently?  Guess what…in this life, no one gets out alive.  Death is inevitable, so what are you waiting for?

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