A priceless gift

One aspect of ministerial life to which I have had to become accustomed over the years is that one can expect the unexpected.  I am by nature someone who likes to plan ahead, but I have learned to make my plans with the understanding that flexibility may be required when something turns up out of the blue which wasn't in the plans!  I have also learned that however long one has been in ministry, there are always new things to learn and new experiences to encounter.  Last week, for example, I took my first 'double funeral.'

An elderly couple, who were both members of one of my churches, happened to die within a few days of each other.  One moment we were in the midst of planning the husband's funeral, the next we were faced with the reality that the wife had also died.  The family decided that it would be best to have a joint funeral service.  In a sense there was double sorrow.  On the other hand, we were celebrating the lives of two people who had both lived to a good old age, who were devoted to each other during the course of their long and happy marriage, and who were both committed believers in Jesus Christ.  As I said at the thanksgiving service, there is something beautiful and special when such a couple pass from this life into God's presence within a short time of each other.

Theirs was a close-knit family, and some family members took part in the service.  One of the couple's grandsons, who was not able to be present at the funeral, sent a moving written tribute to his grandparents which I was asked to read during the service.  I was both touched and challenged by some of his words:

"Whenever we visited their home they would both do their best to make us feel welcome.  Grandad would spend the whole time playing with us ... he wouldn't take a break or look tired as you could tell that he really wanted to spend time with us.  They made it clear that we were important to them.  That dedication in time is something which has taught me to be aware of in my own life: that you should show other people that they are special and important, because it's very easy not to feel like that."

Such powerful and challenging words!   It seems to me so striking that the thing this grandson remembers most about his grandparents is that they devoted time to him. As a grandparent myself, I feel that I have a lot to live up to!  And the challenge is not just to grandparents; it is, I am sure, a message to all of us.  Just about the most important thing we can give to another person is some of our time.  It's a priceless gift.