Last weekend Steve did a funeral. We'd only known the deceased 3 or 4 months and while she knew Christ, 99% of her family does not. Interestingly enough, they felt the need to go to a church during a time like this but they don't see the value of continuing in a church family on a regular basis.
It was such a different funeral for me to observe. They wept as those who have no hope because honestly, they do not.
But what struck me most came out in the eulogies and in bits of conversation I was part of and I overheard. Regrets. There were statements like "Grandma, I'm so sorry I didn't come see you very much", "Mom, I'm sorry we were estranged for 8 years", and those are just a couple. This family is so deep in sorrow and regret but now it's too late. During the time when she needed them most, they were conspicuously missing.
It fit in so perfectly with this week's Bible study where we looked at how King Xerxes probably felt some regret once he sobered up and thought about the decree issued regarding his wife. But it was too late for him as well. A decree issued in Persia could not be taken back. I challenged the ladies, whom I affectionately call my "Esther Girls", to not sin in their anger as Proverbs says. To be patient, forgiving, and long suffering as God is in Psalm 78:38. To address what needs to be addressed so when death comes to them or to a loved one, there will be no regrets.
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