March 21, 2022
“For everything there is a season, a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance.” Ecclesiastes 3:1,4 NLT
Some people cry easily, and easily in front of others. I do not. With the house empty the other morning, I had myself a good cry. When I was cried out (at least temporarily), I was ready to transfer Carol’s ashes from the plastic bag inside the plastic funeral home box to the urn.
It was not a straightforward process. I had trouble unscrewing the top of the urn and got to laughing at the situation. I reminded me of the time Carol, Jane and I took a short sister’s vacation near Pigeon Forge, TN. We stayed at a rustic resort and took the resort’s van to a restaurant. The pickup site was on the downside of a slope. The van was high off the ground. We had to request a stepstool to get into the van. We got to giggling so hard in the process that the tears almost rolled down our legs.
After several tries, and before heading to the vise on the basement work bench, I succeeded. I am glad some family members with larger, stronger hands will be around when we spread her ashes!
How to get the ashes from the plastic bag? I put the urn in the bathtub, grabbed a funnel, and scooped ashes with a cup. The funnel clogged and I had to shake it to get Carol through. She would have hated that. I finally resorted to pouring them straight from the bag. There was a scattering of ashes in the tub, and I managed to sweep them up with my hand, using an index card for a dustpan. Tiny bits of ashes remained, and I decided to turn on the faucet and let them go down the drain. Images from Finding Nemo came to mind, as did more laughter.
“For everything there is a season, a time to weep and a time to laugh.” Sometimes, they go hand in hand, both wonderful expressions of a heart overflowing with feelings. At the end of the last chapter of the last book in the Bible, in Revelation 21, we find this about the end of time as we know it and the beginning of forever. “God will wipe every tear from their eyes, there will be no mourning, crying, or pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” I suspect that tears of joy, and belly laughs will remain.
For the tears, and laughter, I give God thanks.
Pastor Anne
Wayfinding 