Yesterday, I attended the funeral of my husband's cousin Debbie. She was 47 years old and fought cancer for many years. James (my hubby) and his father (Lester) conducted the funeral. My father-in-law preached a sermon filled with hope and rejoicing because of Debbie's faith in Christ Jesus. He stated that knowing Debbie had accepted Jesus' free gift of salvation made his job so much easier. One of the statements he made that I loved was that the greatest inheritance someone could leave their loved ones was giving them the gift of knowing they were with Jesus and that their life reflected that commitment to follow Him.
It was a lovely service, I cried for the family's loss and tried to stay strong for my husband. It's hard for me not to get emotional when I see people hurting so much. James conducted the graveside service, the Holy Spirit guided him through verses in Revelation about no more tears, no more sorrow. One of Debbie's sisters said it was the first funeral where she felt better afterward. Debbie will be dearly missed.
A local church provided dinner for the family and yes, there was funeral salad. A couple years ago a lady at my church said she brought funeral salad to our church potluck. What's funeral salad? I asked. It's that fluffy fruit salad with marshmallows, it comes in a variety of colors but usually mint green, peach, or pink. It's one of those comfort foods, yummy with no real nutritional value, we never make it for our home but only to share with others - on sad occasions and happy ones. And since I have begun to think of this fluffy stuff as funeral salad - whether it's brought to a funeral or church dinner it's always a reminder to me of the loved ones that have departed this world and can have comfort that they are walking with Jesus if they have accepted Him.
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