Country Funeral (anonymous)
As a young minister, I was asked by a funeral
director to hold a graveside service in a new cemetery for a derelict man (with
no family or friends) who had died while traveling through the area.
The cemetery was way back
in the country. This man would be the first to be laid to rest at this
new cemetery.
As I was not familiar with
the backwoods area, I became lost.
Being
the typical man I didn't stop for directions. And when I finally arrived
an hour late, I saw a crew and
a backhoe, but the hearse
was nowhere in sight.
The workmen were eating
lunch. I apologized for my tardiness, but the workers just looked
puzzled. I stepped to the side of the open grave, to find the vault lid
already in place.
I assured the workers I
would not hold them long, but this was the proper thing to do.
As the workers gathered
around, still eating their lunch. I poured out my heart and soul.
As I preached, the workers
began to say "Amen," "Praise the Lord" and
"Glory," (they must have all been Baptist).
I preached, and I preached,
like I'd never preached before. I began from Genesis and worked all the
way through to Revelation. I preached for 45 minutes.
It was a long
service. Finally, I closed in prayer and it was finished.
As I was walking to my car,
I felt that I had done my duty and I would leave with a renewed sense of
purpose and dedication, in spite of my tardiness.
As I was opening the door
and taking off my coat, I overheard one of the workers saying to another.......
"Ya
know, I've been putting in septic tanks for 20 years, but I ain't never seen
anything like that before."