a funeral.

I attended a funeral yesterday of a woman who was a wife and mother in her late 40's. She died unexpectedly this weekend. She sat in the same chair every Sunday.....this chair....

This was, by far, the largest funeral I have ever been to. It was really sad, but also very powerful. She lived a life that was worthy of the calling she had received and it was evident in that place, both on the faces of her family members and in the sheer number of people there to pay their respects. The chair above is a small tribute to her, as if to say, "Even though you are not here, we remember you." To me, this is the most difficult part of death....the fact that the person is just gone. They are no longer here. One day they are and the next day there is just an empty chair.
Funerals like these (where someone dies young and unexpectedly) are the ones that stop you in your tracks and remind you that life is short, that you are not promised tomorrow and that death is a certainty. They make you evaluate your life, lay things down, and realign yourself with things that matter.
This woman lived deeply and loved well. I really pray that when my day comes, people would be able to say the same about me.....that that day would be a day of victory and not regret...a day of hope and not sorrow...a day of worship, not mourning.