Yesterday was Forrest's funeral. My wife is Jewish so the ceremony included Jewish and Christian traditions. Her brother led the service for us with my pastor. They both did a beautiful job. Everyone was blessed by it.
We realized yesterday how much God has blessed us with friends and family. One friend brought dozens and dozens of roses. Another friend has been an incredible blessing thoughout this whole ordeal. She collected all of the baby shower gifts and returned then. The also gathered up all of the items scattered throughout the house that related to Forrest, such as ultrasound pics and the like, and put them in the nursery so that we wouldn't keep stumbling across them. She made dozens of phone calls for us and helped me get through making the funeral arrangements. And most importantly, she was there with us in the OR during the C-section.
I mentioned earlier that we were worried about our daughter. She hadn't been directly expressing her sorrow. That changed at the funeral. Part of the Jewish tradition (and what was once my church's tradition back in the "old country"...) is to have each mourner in attendence place a shovelful of earth onto the casket. The finality of that brought out her tears. I held her and told her that it was OK to cry and feel sad, even though we know that Forrest is in Heaven. She then returned to her "Kleenex patrol" duties and started handing out tissues to everyone she saw crying. (She had stuffed her little purse full of tissues for everyone.) She and my niece also made sure that everyone got a rose to take home.
...
I'm not sure that today isn't harder than yesterday. Today was supposed to be his birthday. I was supposed to be making a gaudy "Baby FReeper" post and handing out cigars. But that's not in God's plan and I do trust in His plan. A great blessing will result from this.
This is one of the traditional prayers said by the Jews at funerals and throughout the mourning period. I wanted to include it because its central focus is on praising and honoring God, not upon death.Magnified and sactified be God's great name throughout the world which God created and governs by divine will. May the Kingdom of God be established during your lifetime, and during your days, and during the days of all the house of Israel, yea speedily and in the near future, and let us say Amen.May God's great name be blessed for ever and ever.
Exaulted, glorified and honored be the name of the Holy One whose glory is beyond all blessings, hymns, and praises which people render, and let us say, Amen.
May great peace emanate from Heaven with good life for us and for all Israel, and let us say, Amen.
May the One who makes peace in the heavens, make peace for us and for all Israel, and let us say, Amen.
-The Mourners' Kaddish
Again, thank you all for remembering us in your prayers.Listen, I will tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed- in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. Now when this perishable puts on the imperishable, and this mortal puts on immortality, then the saying that is written will happen,"Death has been swallowed up in victory."
"Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?"- 1 Corinthians, 15:51-55
Hugs
2T