Echoes

   "There are six things the Lord hates--no, seven things He detests: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that kill the innocent, a heart that plots evil, feet that race to do wrong, a false witness who pours out lies, a person who sows discord in a family." Proverbs 6:16-19

  I was at a funeral this past weekend. It was for a young man whose life had been shaped by the wheelchair he was bound to. His mind was broken, his body, too, by an illness he was born into. I didn't know him personally but we went to support the family. He was the brother of my friend's nephew's wife. Family can be far reaching.

  The service was held at the graveside. A dozen or so mourners gathered around, thankful the rain had held off. It was a simple service, celebrating this young man and rejoicing in the heavenly gift of a new body and a new mind. 

  I don't think there's anything scriptural about my thoughts on this, but I think Jesus has created a special place for the innocents who are unable to speak or whose mental incapacity stops them from understanding the gift of the Cross. At least, I hope He has.

  This was the first funeral after my step Dad's passing. I was okay until they lifted the board. It was covering the small grave where a simple bag with the young man's cremated remains would be laid to rest.

  It wasn't the board. It wasn't the hole. It was the Astro-turf (the fake grass carpet) cemeteries use to hide "unsightly" dirt. The board was wrapped in it, too. 

  The tears started coming. For this young man and his family, for Allan and, surprisingly, for my own dad. 

  He died suddenly when I was 19. It was December, right before Christmas. The Astro-turf was out of place against a blanket of fresh snow. He wasn't cremated so the casket sat above a grave surrounded by fake grass. It was a visual incongruity that has haunted me for decades.

  Imagine Astro-turf being the catalyst that made my heart leak from my eyes. 

  It's still leaking. That's why I had to write today. 

  I never cried at Allan's funeral or at the grave side. Not that this is a bad thing or wrong. God poured a full measure of His peace and grace into my being. For that I am most grateful.

  

  I think Astro-turf is deception personified. It's "polite society" etiquette; of how not getting dirt on your shoes is more important; of not having anything offensive in sight; of making sure death is neat and tidy...it's swept under the rug so to speak.

  I am getting a sense Astro-turf symbolizes things that reach far beyond the cemetery. 

  Lord, I lift this to You. Help me understand in Jesus' name I pray. AMEN!