THE WAY I SEE IT 'E' MAGAZINE

R.I.P.

When I was a young minister, a funeral director asked me to hold a grave side service for a

homeless man with no family or friends. The funeral was to be at a cemetery way out in the country.

This was a new cemetery and this man was the first to be laid to rest there.

I was not familiar with the area and became lost. Being a typical man, of course, I did not ask for directions.

I finally found the cemetery about an hour late. The back hoe was there and the crew was

eating their lunch. The hearse was nowhere to be seen.

I apologized to the workers for being late. As I looked into the open grave, I saw the vault lid

already in place. I told the workers I would not keep them long, but that this was the proper

thing to do. The workers, still eating their lunch, gathered around the opening.

I was young and enthusiastic and poured out my heart and soul as I preached. The workers

joined in with, "Praise the Lord," "Amen," and "Glory!" I got so into the service that I preached

and preached and preached, from Genesis to The Revelation.

When the service was over, I said a prayer and walked to my car. As I opened the door,

I heard one of the workers say, "I never saw anything like that before and I've been putting

 in septic systems for twenty years."

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Bedside Manners

Susie's husband had been slipping in and out of a coma for several months. Things looked grim,

but she was by his bedside every single day. One day as he slipped back into consciousness,

he motioned for her to come close to him. She pulled the chair close to the bed and leaned

 her ear close to be able to hear him.

"You know" he whispered, his eyes filling with tears, "you have been with me through all the

 bad times. When I got fired, you stuck right beside me. When my business went under, there

you were. When we lost the house, you were there. When I got shot, you stuck with me.

When my health started failing, you were still by my side. "And you know what?"

"What, dear?" she asked gently, smiling to herself.

"I think you're bad luck."