The day of my uncles service we arrived a bit early to take care of some last minute details with my oldest brother who was asked to do the music.
One of the first impressions I had was, how nice it is to have a large family, at a time like this.
We provided the minister, me, the music, my brother, the food a friend of the family, who Lorenzo had basically adopted, and the funeral home provided the venue.
Another impression I had. If you are dressed in a suit and start moving chairs and working with people and asking people to move, the general gathering of people assume you are in charge of stuff.
It was so obvious that I made a mental note about it for my studies concerning success and confidence.
I was giving the message, yes, but at the time I was just moving chairs and people were showing a good deal of respect… musta’ been the suit.
The venue was having some type of electrical issue and lights were not working right away for the lower half of the building and the director asked if I wanted to use their microphone system.
I politely declined and instead used my brothers microphone and amp he had set up for his guitar.
I felt that as a speaker if I could do well for my uncle in front of all of my family and cousins and total strangers for someone I loved so much that I would be bullet proof as far as speaking in public in the future.
I opened with a welcome and then described the week of gathering my notes from others in the family and how I couldn’t get a bead on the service layout and then paused for a moment…
And said, “After such a week and with all this information…
I got nothin.”
It received an appropriate laugh for the occasion and so I explained that I was just going to read how it came together, “the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth”, using the high lights from the rough notes and leading to the ‘official service’.
It ended up being a bit long, about forty five minutes, but very appropriate and very well received. And I felt it gave the complete picture of Lorenzo.
I know only God knows who hearts are truly His, but I had such a peace about the whole event from the time I heard he had passed to the day of the service, that I believe he is in heaven.
The Bible says we can know God and that eternal life is knowing God. And the word knowing means on a very personal and intimate level.
I only hope I can be an example to those around me that you can really know God that way. And when it is my turn to be called home, that they can experience the peace Jesus offers us every day, especially in those sad times of our lives.
“…6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God,which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.“
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