As a young minister, I was asked by a funeral director to hold a graveside service for a homeless man, who had no family or friends. The funeral was to be held at a new cemetery back in the country, and this man would be the first to be buried there.
I was not familiar with the backwoods area, and I soon became lost and finally arrived an hour late. I saw the backhoe and the open grave, but the hearse was nowhere in sight. The digging crew was eating lunch. I apologized to the workers for my tardiness, and I stepped to the side of the open grave. There I saw the vault lid already in place. I assured the workers I would not hold them up for long, as I told them that this was the proper thing to do.
The workers gathered around the grave and stood silently, as I began to pour out my heart and soul. As I preached, the workers became excited and began to say “Amen.” Their fervor truly inspired me. So I preached and preached like I had never preached before, all the way from Genesis to Revelation.
I finally closed the lengthy service with a prayer, thanked the men, and walked to my car., As I was opening the door and taking off my coat, I heard one of the workers say to another, “I aint’t never seen nothin’ like that before, and I’ve been puttin’ in septic tanks for thirty years.”
-Author Unknown-
“A merry heart doeth good” - Proverbs 17:22
I was not familiar with the backwoods area, and I soon became lost and finally arrived an hour late. I saw the backhoe and the open grave, but the hearse was nowhere in sight. The digging crew was eating lunch. I apologized to the workers for my tardiness, and I stepped to the side of the open grave. There I saw the vault lid already in place. I assured the workers I would not hold them up for long, as I told them that this was the proper thing to do.
The workers gathered around the grave and stood silently, as I began to pour out my heart and soul. As I preached, the workers became excited and began to say “Amen.” Their fervor truly inspired me. So I preached and preached like I had never preached before, all the way from Genesis to Revelation.
I finally closed the lengthy service with a prayer, thanked the men, and walked to my car., As I was opening the door and taking off my coat, I heard one of the workers say to another, “I aint’t never seen nothin’ like that before, and I’ve been puttin’ in septic tanks for thirty years.”
-Author Unknown-
“A merry heart doeth good” - Proverbs 17:22
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