A Memorial Service

We went to a memorial service tonight, the first my children have been to.

It was a lovely grandma that we knew from the home where Thomas works.

We used to see her every day when we lived in town.

The memorial service was a delightful affair. Stories of love and strength, poetry, triumphant music. She was a woman who knew the Lord and LOVED Him, and LOVED life! The children and I had to sit in one of the front rows because we were LATE and all the seats in back were taken. We sat down with great rustling and took coats off with more rustling and gave littlest ones a snack to keep them busy with...yet more rustling. For about 15 minutes there at the end, I thought I'd made a mistake bringing the littles. Golden and Silas' feet kept straying noisily onto the seat backs in front of them. Sparrow was arguing with the littles because they wanted her activity book. Pippa and Her Voice were barely contained in their eagerness to draw on benches and hymnals. But soon it was over and everyone gorged themselves on cookies.

I had a great time talking to people from church, and Sally's family.

We picked up Thomas from work around 8PM, then all drove home. Got everyone's teeth brushed and their squirmy little bodies into bed, and came out to the kitchen to straighten up.

That's when Golden came out, crying.

What's the matter, Golden?

I can't sleep cause I can't stop thinking about Sally being dead!

And it's making you cry?

Yeah, cause I love her and I didn't get to say goodbye!

I picked her up. She cried into my neck five-year-old tears, her heart tasting the sorrow that we must face, the sorrow of being human on this fallen earth.

I rocked her back and forth and whispered truths to her.

Sally knows you wanted to say goodbye, and she is saying goodbye to you right now! Like this: Goodbyyyyyyye, Golden girl! With her big happy smile and her laugh, she is waving to you! Do you know the Bible says that people can see us after they go to heaven? She knows you love her, Golden. Don't worry! She is happy now! No more confusion, and no more sadness, and hurt! She is in the real world now. She knows who you are more than she did when she was here!

Sally. Was. Spunky, original, outloud. And she loved babies. Here she is holding Pippa in 2012. Isn't she flexible for an 82-yr-old woman?!