A Sunny Afternoon at the Cemetery

Our neighbor, Roy, lost his wife of fifty years several months ago. He's obviously grieving and lonely, so Ron and I try to visit with him now and then, take him a meal, etc. He mentioned once that we ought to go see Eve's headstone. Sunday, although a bit nippy, was a beautiful sunny fall day, and seemed like a good day to honor Roy's request. We pulled into his drive to find him out walking his dog. Ron asked if he'd like to take us to the cemetery. His face lit up and with an atypical bounce to his cane-assisted step, he hustled little Buster into the house, then climbed into the car with us.

Their headstone is indeed a lovely one. They made a good choice. A more important choice, however, is whether to believe or reject Christ's claims. Meandering around a cemetery tends to turn one's thoughts toward eternity.

Over the last couple years here at Faith Church, I've watched the staff shift their focus from plans and programs to prayer and people. They are encouraging us all to become outward focused. To notice when a neighbor is lonely and needs someone to sit at the kitchen table and listen to him tell of his grief.

Just about four steps away from Eve's headstone is the grave of a 23 year-old man who took his own life. On the back of his stone, his family elected to engrave the entire note he left behind at his death. It is filled with heart-wrenching cries of desperation. He believed he had nowhere else to turn.

What person in our lives may be experiencing that desperation? Will we take time to speak some reassuring words before it's too late? Of course, we probably won't know about their desperation. Which underscores the need to bathe our day in prayer, then trust God to intersect our path with a person He loves and wants us to encourage.

I'm speaking to myself when I say we need to shift our focus away from our own daily plans and direct it toward prayer and people, just as the Faith Church leadership has been demonstrating. Building relationships, serving others, doing acts of kindness, realizing we are a picture of Christ to many, producing spiritual children and grandchildren - these things are worthy of our energy.

Stop by a cemetery someday soon and let it remind you of what is important. Then join the staff and leadership in building Faith Church - not primarily with people transferring from other churches - but with those from our own relationships who have just experienced new birth. For believers, a cemetery never has to be a fearful place.