The Funeral

On the day of Grandma Bea's funeral, I woke early. We were expected to be at the church by 12:30 and were met by the hearse when we arrived. I was rather hoping that the funeral home would already have her coffin inside by the pulpit, but it was not to be. As a pall-bearer I helped my siblings, my cousin and two other dear friends carry the coffin inside the church. We tried to keep to the narrow, paved path as we made our way to the front doors of the church. I stepped two or three times in the soft muck of the church garden as we rounded the bend in the path. Up six stairs, my muscles were straining under the weight of this magnificent coffin. Minutes later, we eased our burden down upon the wheeled device waiting at the door.

Once things were ready, I made my way to the front of the church and deposited letters from the children. I tucked the envelope neatly into the folds of the soft, white cloth and bid a hasty retreat to the rear of the church. I could not receive visitors that afternoon. My concern was with maintaining my composure while I coached the children through their first funeral. My sister would read the eulogy and the children would read some of Grandma's poetry during the service.

My Grandma's cousin is a preacher and he led us through the ceremony. He opened with some kind words and, after the children read their parts, he led us through the hymn Jesus Loves the Little Children. We didn't have the words in our hymn books so he started by helping us through the chorus a couple of times so we could "learn our part." He and Clarice, the choir leader, sang the song and we all joined in for the chorus. It was kind of karaoke-ish. I smiled and thought that Grandma would really have enjoyed it. My sister read the eulogy. It was wonderful. I think she'll post it on her blog. I'll drop in a link if she does. (Or maybe she will in a comment post.) We followed the eulogy by another hymn - Amen. Again, no words, but then again...that's the only word there is...Amen. I NEVER sang THAT song in church before. In fact, I'd only ever heard it sung in a movie or on TV in the setting of a Southern Baptist Church. I smiled again. Grandma would have loved that! As we walked the coffin out of the church, a song played in the background. It was a Christian Rock song. It kept things from getting too terribly sad.

After the funeral and the interment, we returned to the church for a luncheon that the ladies of the church had prepared. It was lovely. Sandwiches, squares, coffee, tea and juice...and lots of dear, dear friends.

Since the funeral, I started to read 90 Minutes in Heaven. My sister suggested that I read it because it would help reinforce my belief that Grandma is somewhere better. My sister took the book up to the pulpit when she delivered the eulogy. It helped her stay composed. Once I get done, I'll tell you about it.