The Back Page
By Sue Ferguson
I am writing this instalment of the back page for July at the eleventh hour, but sometimes I honestly don't know what my subject will be until the last minute. I apologize to Janet and she is always so understanding, even though I am not making her job any easier.
I attended a celebration of life today for a dear family friend. I took the day off of work, and Shane and I drove a couple of hours to a nice Anglican Church in Aurora, where the celebration took place. I have spoken in the past of attending funerals and celebrations of life, and how they can help us to better come to know the departed souls whom we are there to remember.
The bishop did an amazing job of talking about the life of our friend. He referenced a song by the Byrds called “Turn! Turn! Turn!” echoing the lyrics “To everything turn, turn, turn. There is a season, turn, turn, turn. And a time to every purpose under heaven. A time to be born, a time to die“… Are you singing along yet? We all ended up joining in song in the sanctuary. I think it brought a smile to the face of everyone there.
The bishop reminded us that the lyrics from that song by the Byrds are very similar to the words found in the Bible in Ecclesiastes 3, verses 1-8: “To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under Heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die.”
None of us knew that we would be born, but we all know with certainty that we will die. The bishop reminded us that Jesus is with us in both our birth and our death and only He knows when those events will take place.
The bishop also talked about cemeteries, and how he has spent more time than probably any of us inside of them. He spoke of the tombstones and how they tell a story, for example, the date of birth and the date of death. He mentioned that the most important part that we should focus on is the dash – that separates those two dates from one another. The dash is the living part of our lives. What have you done with the – in your life so far? In writing, the dash is a small little horizontal stroke marking a pause or break, but it is so much bigger if we think of it as a representation the living part of our lives. What is life if we are not living it the best that we can?
We all experience the turning of seasons both in nature and in our lives. Seasons of love, sadness, joy, and fear. Seasons of work, rest, celebration and grief. While we cannot control these seasons, we can only trust and know He is with us through each and every one. Jesus knows when we will be born, and when we will die, but He also carries us and walks with us through the time between those two events. He wants for us to live our best lives, and I believe if we strive to follow His word and walk in His ways we will be well on our way.
I think we all need to be reminded once in awhile to ponder just how we are living out our time in this world. Today was a good reminder of that, as I sat and listened to the tributes given to our friend. She certainly lived and loved, and left an amazing impression on all whom she came into contact with, When I look at the dash on her tombstone, I will think of all of those wonderful memories shared of a life well lived. As the bishop said “Joan now knows something none of us here do. She knows about dying. Now you and I need to stop focusing on that part, dry our eyes, and get to the living.”
