Burying Smokey
July 1, 2000
I was feeling poor. Not poor in spirit. Just poor. Once the bills were paid, we had $2.94 in checking. It was only Tuesday. And to deepen my melancholy further, this was going to be a two-funeral week. My wife, Joy, had taken a temporary job so we could buy a sump pump after our basement flooded. We needed baby sitters while I hung out at two funeral homes. I estimated 30 bucks. Plus the dry cleaner was holding her wardrobe hostage. Joy had dropped off a load of dresses. This job required her to look spiffy. We had paid a deposit for my son and me to attend the "Lads and Dads" retreat. I needed another $60 by Friday when we would jump in the car and head for Bambi Lake. I was looking forward to that, but all in all, I figured we were about $180 in the hole. We starting rationing cereal. Their suffering and mine
A friend watched our kids while I went to help the family decide those dreadful details—what color casket he will look good in, which poem to print in the memorial program, and whether to buy the vault that seals or the one that would benefit from a sump pump. (They almost always choose the one that seals.) I arrived at the funeral home a little late and very overdressed. The family was in blue jeans. Even the funeral director had shed his jacket. He was seated behind a little desk in a 10-by-12 room packed with sons, daughters, their wives and husbands, and Madge, the distraught widow, front and center. Madge had called me to ask if I'd perform the ceremony. Her family had connections to the church. A plump woman in her late fifties, Madge had a prominent nose, made even more so by eight hours of overblowing. If the tissues she was grabbing, wadding, dabbing, and tossing were cigarettes, we would have called Madge ...
Please complete one of the following:
If you're a Leadership journal subscriber...
...but have not yet registered for online access to CTLibrary.com, you can receive a full-year's access for just $29.95!
Register Here | | If you're NOT a Leadership journal print subscriber...
You're entitled to a special, introductory offer for new subscribers only! Subscribe now and receive a one-year Leadership journal print subscription and one-year access to all Leadership archives for just $39.95!
Subscribe now!
When you log in as a Leadership Journal subscriber, you'll see additional articles noted as premium content only available to CTLibrary.com members. To access the entire CTLibrary requires a CTLibrary subscription. If you would prefer this option, select the offer below that best fits your needs.
|
Like the preview? To read this complete article
and 18,013 more in the archive—JOIN NOW!
Easily find high-quality, well-researched materials that provide a Christian perspective on topics ranging from headlines to history.
Start using this invaluable tool TODAY for preparing your Bible studies, presentations, class lectures, sermons, meetings, and more.
|
It's easy and quick to join:
Brought to You by Christianity Today Int'l |  |
|
| 
Find similar articles
E-mail this page
