As a young minister, I was asked by a funeral director to hold a graveside
service for a homeless man, with no family or friends. The funeral was to
be held at a cemetery way back in the country, and this man would be the
first to be laid to rest there.
As I was not familiar with the backwoods area, I became lost; and being a
typical man did not stop for directions. I finally
arrived an hour late. I saw the backhoe and the crew, who was eating
lunch, but the hearse was nowhere in sight.
I apologized to the workers for my tardiness, and stepped to the side of the
open grave, where I saw the vault lid already in
place. I assured the workers I would not hold them up for long, but this
was the proper thing to do. 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"! I preached, and I preached, like I'd never
preached before: from Genesis all the way to Revelations. I closed the
lengthy service with a prayer and walked to my car.
As I was opening the door and taking off my coat, I overheard one of the
workers saying to another, "I ain't never seen
anything like that before and I've been putting in septic tanks for twenty
years."
service for a homeless man, with no family or friends. The funeral was to
be held at a cemetery way back in the country, and this man would be the
first to be laid to rest there.
As I was not familiar with the backwoods area, I became lost; and being a
typical man did not stop for directions. I finally
arrived an hour late. I saw the backhoe and the crew, who was eating
lunch, but the hearse was nowhere in sight.
I apologized to the workers for my tardiness, and stepped to the side of the
open grave, where I saw the vault lid already in
place. I assured the workers I would not hold them up for long, but this
was the proper thing to do. 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"! I preached, and I preached, like I'd never
preached before: from Genesis all the way to Revelations. I closed the
lengthy service with a prayer and walked to my car.
As I was opening the door and taking off my coat, I overheard one of the
workers saying to another, "I ain't never seen
anything like that before and I've been putting in septic tanks for twenty
years."