Kathy, words are inadequate to express my heart right now, but a big
thank you for sharing your Dad with us.
Love,
Helen
Earlier you wrote:
>Hi Guys,
> I wanted to write more yesterday and share with you all the
> happenings surrounding my Dad's funeral, but I came home with some
> kind of a bug and so I had to keep my message short and to the
> point. It is no fun flying when you don't feel well. Liz and I
> both just stayed in bed, for the most part and recovered. I just
> wanted to let you know yesterday that I was home and safe.
> Anyway, the events surrounding Dad's funeral were just
> amazing! I just have to share them with you. God was so with all
> of us. First of all, when the pastor came over on Sunday, to plan
> out the funeral service we all had a great time swapping memories
> of Dad and what a character he truley was.
> Then, and I have no idea how the next part of this story
> will fly with some of you, but I'll tell it anyway, because it was
> healing for me, I began praying about having the courage to touch
> my Dad in order to say goodbye. I felt as though the Lord was
> telling me that this would be an important part of the healing
> process for me because I wasn't able to say goodbye to him while he
> was still alive. Finally I prayed that, if the Lord felt that this
> was important for me, that he would arrange it so that I could do
> it alone, since I had no idea how I would react. I didn't even
> tell Greg about this because I thought that I was being so bizarre.
> Anyway, our family was scheduled to have a private viewing
> at 11:00 am. on Monday morning, which ended up being a very nice
> thing, but anyway, Greg and I got going earlier than expected and
> showed up arount 10:00 am. instead. We knew the funeral dirrector
> pretty well because we used to attend church together when Greg and
> I lived in the area. The funeral director came out to the parking
> lot to express his condolences to me personally and then he said,
> "Kathy, would you like to spend some time alone with your father
> ahead of time?" I couldn't believe it, but there was God preparing
> a private place for me in the midst of everything, so I went in
> with the director and spent some time alone with my Dad. I just
> kept stroking his arm and holding his hand. I couldn't believe how
> easy it was once I got past my own fears. What I hadn't expected
> was how I opened the door for others in my family, especially my
> Mom, to reach out and touch Dad to say goodbye after me.
> The rest of the family gathered and we hugged and cried,
> but rejoiced that Dad is at peace now. At around 4:00 pm. we had a
> public wake and, O My Goodness, I couldn't believe how many people
> showed up to say goodbye. The wake lasted three hours. Our family
> formed a reception line and I honestly didn't believe that there
> would be enough time for everybody to make it through. It was
> incredible how many lives this simple man touched. Our family had
> a kind of joke about it though. You see, my Dad hated crowds. He
> always just wanted to get in and get out and get whatever he was
> supposed to do over with. We were joking that this was probably
> the only way that Dad could have handled this situation, especially
> as the center of attention. GRIN! I'll bet that there were between
> 2 & 300 people, easy.
> Anyway, then, there was a military funeral. Wow, was that
> powerful. All the V.F.W. posts in the Stephenson area
> participated. It is a very moving service. First, they all filed
> past my Dad and gave him a sollute. then, they read about his
> military history and his obituary. When they prayed, they would
> remove their caps and put them back on when the prayer was
> done. Then, they began folding the flag and as they did so, the
> chaplain explained what each fold of the flag meant. It was really
> powerful. I was amazed at how much of the service, including each
> fold of the flag, points to honoring God first, above all
> else. Then, of course, they presented the flag to my Mom, then
> Taps was played on a trumpet and then, the men retreated.
> After that, they held, what is called a prayer
> service. The pastor preached a sermon at this and there was a time
> of prayer and then Greg and I sang the old Swedish hymn, "Day by Day."
> After most of the people had left, Mom wanted to go up to
> the casket one more time and I offered to go with her. She and I
> walked up and this time, she felt comfortable taking his arm and
> saying, "good night dear." It was very hard to keep from crying as
> she did this because I knew that this was what she had said to him
> every night, but this time, it was so final. We prayed together
> prayers of thanks for Dad and for the life he provided for us, with God's help.
> The next Day, was the church funeral. I and two of my
> brothers participated in that. I sang a simple song that Dad had
> asked me to sing when he died. The thing is, he had asked me to do
> this over 32 years ago. I also sang "Because He Lives," and we got
> the whole church rockin' on the chorus. then, the cemetary is
> right behind the church so we moved out to there, but the cool
> thing was that the pianist began playing, "How Great Thou Art," and
> I started singing it and everybody joined in, so we walked out to
> the cemetary, in 12 degree weather singing. Awesome, eh? Seven of
> Dad's Grandsons were the paul barers. Matt would have made eight,
> but he didn't want to do it.
> At the committal service, I sang, "Thy Holy Wings Dear
> Savior." The chill added extra vibrato to my voice, but I was
> determined to at least give this gift, since I had not been able to
> sing to him one more time before he left this earth.
> It was just a powerful few days for me. Thank you for
> letting me share. My mom is being amazing so far. I think that
> all of us kids are so worried about her. We're constantly calling
> her to make sure that she's okay and those who are close keep
> dropping in. She has just been so strong through all of this.
> I'll just share two more things, and then, I'll close. Our
> church out here in Glenburn, on their own, sent flowers to my
> family. That is incredible to me, that they would reach out beyond
> their circle to show such honor to my Dad. I can't tell you how
> good that made Greg and I feel.
> Secondly, there is a Steve Green song called, "Find Us
> Faithful." Some of the words in that song are, "After all our
> hopes and dreams have come and gone and our children sift through
> all we've left behind, may the clues that they discover and the
> memories they uncover become the light that leads them to the road
> we each must find." Well, when my Mom was going through my Dad's
> wallet on Saturday, she found a little cross in it that says,
> "Jesus Saves." She has no idea how long he had carried it or where
> he picked it up, but this little cross was placed in Dad's hands
> for the viewing and the burial. He had always had it with him and
> he still does, but for a short time, everyone was able to see the
> testimony that my Dad lived in deeds.
>God bless,
>Kathy
>
"My Life is not in what He gives me, but in Who He is."
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