To Everything There is a Season

I attended a home-going service today of a dear friend of our family's. He was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer that took him really quickly and at the young age of 52. It was sobering to think that he was so full of life not even a year ago when we were just hanging out watching our church's co-ed softball team play (his wife is on the team, I used to play but have switched to observing). His brother is in my dad's southern gospel quartet and his mother is in choir with my mom, dad and I-so, our families are really intertwined. I, in general, have a weird thing about funerals. I really do not care for them. My idea is that the person is no longer in that body, you know? They have gone into eternity--so why linger over it? I know it's about paying respects and gathering and remembering what impact that person had on our life, but it all seems macabre to me. I mean, I still go-obviously, but I guess it just seems weird to me. Today's service was a bit different than those I've been to before--by the time the preacher got up to preach the message there wasn't a dry eye in the place after hearing a touching eulogy. But the preacher was so clear in his presentation of the gospel and relating it to how our friend had accepted the Lord that I couldn't help but be glad that the Lord knew exactly what we needed to hear in this setting. I know that there were probably unsaved people in the crowd (and it was a big crowd!) so I pray that what he said today would cause a stirring in their hearts. I want them to realize that the hole in their hearts can only be filled by One-our Lord. As we walked out to the graveside, I looked around at the crowd of people and wondered. Do they know? Will they know? The sun was shining and the air was crisp with that warm spring feeling that still has a bite of cold to it. On our way to the graveyard we walked by a playground full of 2 and 3 year olds playing and shouting and laughing without abandon, and I thought-this is right. This is exactly as it should be. To everything there is a seaon, is there not?