sober-minded

For all you young mothers out there laboring under never-ending mounds of laundry: read this for a sweet new perspective.

The Flourishing Mother on “Textile Management”

HT: Amy Scott

Today I went to a funeral–a memorial service, to be more exact–for a young man. He was my daughter’s friend, and he was only 20 years old. Here are some impressions from it I’d like to share.

WHAT I SAW:

I saw hundreds of young people (many more than were evidently expected) of all types and stripes, but the majority of them skater types. I saw a lot of tattoos, piercings, and black garb. I saw fields white for the harvest, though it looked like a sea of black. I saw tears of anguish. I saw pictures of this beautiful young man with people he loved and who loved him; I saw his artwork, some of it very good, sitting around everywhere. I saw his mom, sitting at the front. I saw my daughter, standing along the wall with a lot of other young people who couldn’t find a seat. I saw 10 or 12 young guys walk in procession to the front with skateboards when the service started. I saw a few of them take to the pavement outside later on, and knew they skated in memory of their friend.

WHAT I HEARD:

I heard people crying. I heard music, some from a cd and one song played live and played very well, and all of it was very sad. I heard one young man, though I didn’t hear him very well because he laid aside the microphone they handed him, talk from the heart about his friend; it was short and sweet and I hope I can find out from my daughter what all he said. I heard the young man’s aunt talk about her favorite nephew, and read a little essay she had written a couple of nights ago about him; it was very lovely and touching and genuine. I heard laughter at a few things that were said about that young man, and I knew it felt good to them to laugh a little.

WHAT THE YOUTH PASTOR SAID:

The youth pastor said that God created us to find out who we are and then to go for it. The youth pastor said that he hopes that when he dies, people will say about him that he really knew how to be himself. The youth pastor said that Jesus died on the cross to save us from our “stuff.” (Then the youth pastor said “baggage” to clarify what he meant by “stuff.”) The youth pastor said that faith, in this life, is a guess; we jump in and do the best we can, but that for now we just don’t know.

WHAT THE YOUTH PASTOR SAID, AND WHAT THESE YOUNG PEOPLE AND THIS FAMILY HEARD, THAT WAS LIFE-SAVINGLY TRUE ABOUT GOD, ABOUT US, ABOUT LIFE, AND DEATH, AND ETERNITY, AND HEAVEN, AND HELL:

Amy knows how to say it.

Sunday was beautiful. Storms raged into the wee hours, then the day broke cool and clear and lovely. The creek was full.

And it was loud. But some brave souls bravely braved the rushing waters in their large black galoshes.

And received, upon their safe return, a hero’s welcome, braces glinting in the afternoon sun. It was a good day.