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| Along the Way 11-12-10 |
 Earlier this week Alex Tracy and I presided at the graveside memorial service for church member Ed Johnston, 99 years old. Ed, who lived in Causton Bluff, loved to tend his camellias and Confederate Roses. The first time I visited him, and on every ensuing visit, Ed sent lovely flowers home for Bonnie. Having been married to Alice for 63 years he knew that flowers were good for a marriage. When I walked in the door of the parsonage with that beautiful gift Bonnie always knew I’d come from Ed’s. On the evening preceding the service Alex and I reviewed our responsibilities for the next day. I suggested, in light of Ed’s long and fruitful life, that Alex select an appropriate psalm. Early on the morning of the funeral, while riding my bike through Ardsley Park and thinking about Ed, Psalm 16 came to mind. Returning to the house and opening my devotional book, I discovered that the reading for the day was Psalm 16, confirming for me that I would base my remarks on that psalm. When I arrived at Greenwich Cemetery Alex told me that he had selected Psalm 16 to read for Ed’s service. Such threefold confirmation seldom comes so clearly and compellingly. From 3 different directions Psalm 16 surfaced as the correct reading for this good and gracious man. And so on a beautiful November morning, surrounded by a large host of friends, children and grandchildren seated beneath the Fox and Weeks tent, Alex Tracy opened his Bible and read the words of Psalm 16: “The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; I have a goodly heritage… You show me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy; in your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” Psalm 16: 5-6, 11 After a brief service Alex and I placed our hands on the urn containing Ed’s ashes and commended his spirit to God. A flag was presented to the family, the ashes were efficiently buried next to Ed’s dear wife Alice who had died earlier this year, and friends and family departed, perhaps reflecting that the goodness of God comes independently of our striving and claiming that the parameters of life are a divine gift. May God open your eyes today to the path of life and the fullness of joy. May you know again – or for the first time – that in God’s right hand are pleasures forevermore. Creede Hinshaw |
