When death comes to a friend or loved one, we are often at a complete loss. We seem to be in a world of confusion, and not quite sure what to do. We don’t know how to be of help.
I recently read an interesting book by Caleb Wilde. He is a sixth-generation funeral director in Parkesburg, Pennsylvania. His book is entitled, “Confessions of a Funeral Director: How the Business of Death Saved My Life.”
I want to share an interesting statement that Caleb made about halfway in the book: “We all have gifts to give during death. These gifts take the form of condolence cards, or a shared story, or a phone call, or food given, or just showing up. The gifts might feel broken. Some of them feel small. Other gifts feel dull. But when all these gifts come together, they form a bigger picture. All these pieces, all these gifts connect during death and create some fuzzy mosaic, some living remembrance of celebration of what the deceased stood for, what and who the deceased loved, and what the deceased meant.” (Page 104)
Through the pages of the book, the author helps the reader to perhaps see the beauty and importance of mourning. He helps us to see the importance of honoring those who have died. He helps us to see that the funeral home is really a holy place.
Jesus said it like this, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” (Matthew 5:4)