05-12-24

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
May 12, 2024
Yesterday, Cypress Creek Christian Church had the funeral service for one of our longtime members, Lewis Crossley. He and his family joined the church back in the 70’s when it was meeting at Bammel Middle School. I had a couple of strange incidents, one during the funeral and the other at the graveside. When I stood up to speak, something in the flower arrangement close by set off my allergies. I won’t go into detail, but most of you know what it feels like to try and speak as phlegm is flowing down the back of your throat. I don’t usually struggle with allergies too much, so it caught me off guard. Ninety minutes later, I am with the family at the graveside. Lew served in the Navy, and so they had an Honor Guard, and though I have witnessed it numerous times, I am still moved by the folding and presentation of the flag. After they were done, I stepped forward to offer the Committal, some thoughts for the family as their loved one was buried. As I am speaking, I see a bug fly past my face. If I hadn’t been speaking in such a formal setting, I would have swatted the bug away. Instead, I let it fly back and forth. Somewhere around the fourth or fifth pass, I sucked it in. For a few moments, as I continued to speak, I believe the family thought I was getting emotional. I was choking, but not choking back tears. I was choking on a bug. There are times in life when the best-made plans are interrupted by what would usually be of little consequence—some flowers and a bug. But isn’t that a lot of life? It is often what might appear to be trivial, of little importance that catches us completely off guard. I’m not suggesting it is always bad. Sometimes, that unexpected interruption might have guided us to something positive, something we’d never imagined before. In the case of the flowers and the bug, I don’t know if it really guided me too much; except maybe a good story to tell. And since I am in the storytelling business, maybe that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Life happens! That little, almost unnoticed thing can turn the moment upside down. I trust you, O God of immeasurable possibilities, and maybe something positive can come from it, even if it is nothing more than a good story to tell about choking down a bug. Amen.