March Sadness

Some dear friends lost their oldest son today. He was 18 years old and died in a tragic car accident. The funeral mass was this morning and the church was packed with friends and family. We knew many, many people in attendance because we've lived here for a long time. The funeral was a Catholic mass and it was extremely Godly, beautiful, and celebratory of this fine young man's life.He was truly an outstanding individual. As I sat among the sea of friends supporting this precious, hurting family, I was moved by the spirit of empathy felt in the quietness. The priest would say a few words, and then let the silence float, punctuated by the March wind howling through the rafters. The common thread connecting many families sitting on the pews was sports. Many of men sitting in the church were former coaches of my son's little league days. In fact, this is how we knew the family of the young man being honored today, my husband coached with his dad.These men mentored my son in the ways of sportsmanship and male camaraderie when he was just a little guy new to that world. These are my husband's friends, men whose sons he in turn has coached and mentored through the years out on the baseball and football fields. Today I saw them emotionally supporting the bereaved family and each other in a way that spoke of their spiritual strength. They had tears in their eyes as they embraced the parents of the young man. The hugged each other and shook hands in a way that said, "I'm here for you, whatever you need", without having to say a word. In this sad circumstance, they modeled for their sons, now teens on the cusp of adulthood, what it means to be tenderly supportive of those you care about; a valuable facet of a man's character. I know the family must have felt overwhelmed by the show of support they received this difficult morning. I could see their brimming eyes watching as the lines of their friends filed forward to receive communion and a blessing from the priest. I could see in their faces how much it meant to see friend after friend pass by their pew as they knelt. It seems that when people are dealt a death, the bodily presence of friends and loved ones is a primary and vital source of comfort. It was heartfelt love poured out on them from all directions which won't heal their pain, but will divinely console their brokenness at least for today. May God bless and cradle my friends in the coming days with His love and mercy, and everlasting tenderness. Amen.