I admit it: I take notes at funerals.
My kids make fun of me for it. I’m not sure what Michael thinks about it–he’s never told me to stop, but…
I recently came across the memorial folder from my grandma’s funeral in 2001–and reread the notes I’d taken: a Scripture reference, words from the pastor’s message that jumped out at me, the author and title of a reading that was part of the service….things I wanted to be reminded of.
We could have attended four funerals or memorial services this past week. As it was, we went to two of them, and went to a visitation and sent a note of sympathy and remembrance to the other two families.
A death and the customs surrounding one in our culture force us to reflect. So, with my scribbled words in front of me and the space of time for additional reflection behind me, this post and maybe the next few will reflect my reflections from the fourth row of a funeral (I just realized that, at both services, I sat in that row, though in different places in the church.)
I’ll close with this thought from the memorial service we attended yesterday:
“What God has written in the lives of His people, He underscores in death, so that we may all take notice.”
At my dad’s funeral, we opened it up for anyone who wanted to say anything and a lot of people did. A couple days later i tried to write down the gist of what people had said – I remembered a lot, but I’m sure i forgot a lot as well.
I wish I had taken notes!
I take mental notes …then jot them down later
There’s nothing wrong with that. I’ve even made my own funeral plan… and I’m only 20 years old. I’m starting to collect photos of myself growing up too for a video montage.
My sister thinks I’m crazy, but I want my funeral… to be ‘me’, and truly me. When people come to say their goodbyes, I want them to remember ‘me’ for who I am… I want them to feel ‘me’… all of me. That’s why I decided to write down how I wanted things to be done on that day.
By the way, I like the quote you have at the end of your post – “What God has written in the lives of His people, He underscores in death, so that we may all take notice.” It’s beautiful
http://katherineganzon.wordpress.com/2009/01/14/notes-for-my-funeral-plan/
Haha I just realised how many ‘me’s’ I had in the post… sorry about that!!