Elsie Troyer II

What can you say about funerals? They are what they are - some are bitter sweet reunions for family and some are tragically sad and all you do is cry - dry your tears - see someone else crying and then start crying again. I think that the only way that I can describe this funeral is in the following thoughts:

We arrived in Grand Rapids on Tuesday night. We stayed the night and went to visit with grandma as much as we could in the 24 hours we were there. On Wednesday afternoon, we were in her room when the Chaplin from Hospice came in. He asked if we would like to gather and pray and after we all gathered around her to pray, he began talking. I didn't resonate with what he said. It felt generic - I couldn't tell anything about this man through his prayer - I don't know if it was because as a Chaplin, you never know who you are praying with or if he really did lack that much Oomph. As he prayed I began to look at Paul's relatives. I began to see the beauty in this room, all of us surrounding Paul's grandmother, holding hands, reaching out to God. The intensity of the spirit was breath taking. I saw God in us. I could see how literally we are reflections of our Lord. With our differences, our character our gifts and our influence in each others lives. There were four generations in that room kneeling before God and it hit me strongly that there is so much more in a family then what we see. The interpersonal relationships matter - and being who I am - are pretty much all I see. But in that moment, with Grandma there with one foot here and the other in eternity, I could see family in a new light. With new purpose and new meaning. We are a part of something so much bigger then just what we see on our daily basis. Even when we aren't together - God sees us as a part of this family that he placed us in. My family isn't just aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins, parents, brothers and sisters...it is hundreds of years of life. Meaningful significant life. And it reflects God is such a profound way. It convicted me to take more responsibility to look at my family relationships as building a heritage rather than just another relationship that I maintain in my life. It challenged me to take more responsibility for what happens in my family - to own all parts of my family as a part of my identity. Because not only are we reflecting God, but we are reflections of each other and someday - will be a part of the miracle of creating life and we will be seeing small reflections of ourselves. What do I want to see in that reflection?