I received the call Tuesday afternoon asking if I would perform a funeral Wednesday evening. The family wanted a pastor but really had no one to call. My week was packed so I asked them to call around. They did but it was me or no one. So I did the funeral. I put together the brief service, knowing nothing other than what was in the short obituary. When I came to the part about "sermon" I was thinking well, what do you say? Some funerals I know the person, spend time with the family, find the thread that runs through their lives and bring that out in the eulogy or sermon. But this time? I've done this kind of thing before and though it seems a little awkward or strange it is what I'm called to do, it's just what I do.
So I arrive at Covenant Funeral Services in Stafford. I'm greeted by the familiar faces of the Covenant staff. Jerry takes me to meet the family. As I walk down the center aisle I look at the picture of Eva Salinas, a beautiful woman, with something familiar in her eyes, her face. I don't know her. I don't know any of her family. There is just something familiar. Jerry introduces me to her family and I begin to learn...this is a lady that was loved deeply. Her daughter shows me the pic of Eva with her dogs. It is sitting on a table beside a small doll. Then I find the thread...you know the thread that makes us the same.
Eva was a seamstress, a lady who made dolls. The room has several of her masterpieces. Raggedy Ann and Andy with hand sewn hair, deeply hemmed garments, embroidered eyes. I gaze at the pictures of Eva working at her big, commercial sewing machine and the threads of my heart are pulled...my mother made dolls, attached hair, embroidered faces...my Aunt Jayne seated at her commercial machine, sewing dresses, appliqueing letters...the threads tie us together.
When the service began it was no longer a room filled with strangers, instead it was a room of people who were and are connected by threads of love and laughter. Many times we believe that we are somehow unique, isolated, alone. We come to believe there is no one else that can understand , that feels like we do. But that isn't true. You see in our hearts are common threads; threads of love, threads of sorrow, threads of joy. We only need look for a short time and we'll discover that we have much more in common with the other threads in the tapestry of life than we have differences. We are so inter-woven and connected. We delight in food that is lovingly prepared, whether that's a homemade tortilla like Eva fixed or a biscuit like Mama Teague baked. We treasure things thoughtfully and lovingly made with us in mind. We love each other, our families and friends. We know joy at birth and sorrow at death. We are all threads in the tapestry of life, living our color and texture but still going in and out, up and down, as long strands like the other threads.
God made us as individuals that desperately need a community. Our individuality is nestled between other individuals, if we can but look around. If we risk the awkward, hear the stories, see the threads of others and share the threads of our own hearts. Even with a stranger you'll find a common thread and get a glimpse of glory in the tapestry of life.
So I arrive at Covenant Funeral Services in Stafford. I'm greeted by the familiar faces of the Covenant staff. Jerry takes me to meet the family. As I walk down the center aisle I look at the picture of Eva Salinas, a beautiful woman, with something familiar in her eyes, her face. I don't know her. I don't know any of her family. There is just something familiar. Jerry introduces me to her family and I begin to learn...this is a lady that was loved deeply. Her daughter shows me the pic of Eva with her dogs. It is sitting on a table beside a small doll. Then I find the thread...you know the thread that makes us the same.
Eva was a seamstress, a lady who made dolls. The room has several of her masterpieces. Raggedy Ann and Andy with hand sewn hair, deeply hemmed garments, embroidered eyes. I gaze at the pictures of Eva working at her big, commercial sewing machine and the threads of my heart are pulled...my mother made dolls, attached hair, embroidered faces...my Aunt Jayne seated at her commercial machine, sewing dresses, appliqueing letters...the threads tie us together.
When the service began it was no longer a room filled with strangers, instead it was a room of people who were and are connected by threads of love and laughter. Many times we believe that we are somehow unique, isolated, alone. We come to believe there is no one else that can understand , that feels like we do. But that isn't true. You see in our hearts are common threads; threads of love, threads of sorrow, threads of joy. We only need look for a short time and we'll discover that we have much more in common with the other threads in the tapestry of life than we have differences. We are so inter-woven and connected. We delight in food that is lovingly prepared, whether that's a homemade tortilla like Eva fixed or a biscuit like Mama Teague baked. We treasure things thoughtfully and lovingly made with us in mind. We love each other, our families and friends. We know joy at birth and sorrow at death. We are all threads in the tapestry of life, living our color and texture but still going in and out, up and down, as long strands like the other threads.
God made us as individuals that desperately need a community. Our individuality is nestled between other individuals, if we can but look around. If we risk the awkward, hear the stories, see the threads of others and share the threads of our own hearts. Even with a stranger you'll find a common thread and get a glimpse of glory in the tapestry of life.
RSS Feed
