Saying Goodbye

Yesterday afternoon I attended the funeral of a cousin of my husband. When the funeral began a somewhat nontraditional funeral song was played. As the song started playing one of the funeral attendees even let out an “oh my Go*!” I heard some grumbles and groans from others as well. And yes, even I, myself, let out a little non-approving “hmm.” The song played and was almost to the end, it was then that my little 9 year old son looked up at me and very innocently said “Mama that must have been a song that she wanted them to play at her funeral.” I thought to myself at that moment, yes, you know it probably was and who am I to think or say what should or should not be played at a funeral. In my mind’s eye I could see her enjoying that song, singing to it, and possibly even dancing to it. Why not play that song?
As the minister stood and began to give his usual funeral message my thoughts wandered to the girl in the casket, this precious life that had been taken too soon. I had not been a part of her life much as an adult but I remembered back to when I was a child and though we were not good friends, we had still been “friends.” I remembered her free spirit with a bit of mischievous. I remembered the way she smiled and laughed; her zest for life. I looked to the front of the parlor at some of her friends and thought, you know, they must have really loved her. How fortunate we all were to have her in our lives at one time or another. No, life had not always been peaches and cream for this dear soul, she probably didn’t always make the best choices or decisions for her life, I just know that if the time comes that I am lying in the casket and people are there for my funeral that they will remember me at my best and forget the bad parts.
Thinking back now at some of the lyrics of the song that was played, well, I’ve also “got a friend in Jesus” and when I die I can’t wait to go to the “Spirit in the sky.”