Colton’s face bunched up in a terrible twist of worry. “He had to have
Jesus in his heart! He had to know Jesus or he can’t get into heaven!”
Again, his intensity surprised me, especially since he didn’t even know
this man. I tried to comfort him as best I could. “I’ve talked to some of the
family members, and they told me he did,” I said.
Colton didn’t seem entirely convinced, but his face relaxed a bit.
“Well... okay,” he said and walked away.
For the second time in a couple of weeks, I thought, Man, those Sunday
school teachers sure are doing a good job!
That weekend, Sonja dressed Cassie and Colton in their Sunday best,
and we headed the half block down to the church to get ready for the
funeral. As we pulled up in the SUV, I saw the Liewer Funeral Home
hearse parked outside. Inside, we found the burnished oak casket
standing off to one side of the foyer.
Two sets of open doorways led from the foyer into the sanctuary where
the family was gathering for the “flower service.” Before moving to Imperial,
I’d never heard of a flower service, but now I think it’s a really nice idea.
The family gathers before the funeral service, and the funeral director
points out each plant, wreath, and flower arrangement, explains who sent it,
and reads aloud any message of sympathy attached. (“These beautiful
purple azaleas come to you in loving memory from the Smith family.”)
The pastor is supposed to be in the flower service. I peeked into the
sanctuary and caught the funeral director’s eye. He nodded, indicating they
were ready to begin. I turned to gather Colton and Cassie, when Colton
pointed to the casket. “What’s that, Daddy?”
I tried to keep it simple. “That’s the casket. The man who died is inside
it.”
Suddenly, Colton’s face gathered into that same knot of intense concern.
He slammed his fists on his thighs, then pointed one finger at the casket
and said in a near shout, “Did that man have Jesus?!”
Sonja’s eyes popped wide, and we both glanced at the sanctuary
doorway, terrified the family inside could hear our son.
“He had to! He had to!” Colton went on. “He can’t get into heaven if he
didn’t have Jesus in his heart!”