February 15 – “Funeral mode?”

Is there such a thing as "funeral mode"?  It has sure felt like it ever since I woke up yesterday.  First I found out that several students have decided to return to public school, so they are leaving Seaside Christian Academy.  That presents a big problem financially, which in turn points to the problem of what to do staffing-wise.  To really break even we need around 25 students, and we are dropping under ten now.  Tough situation, and the school council is praying and working on what options we have for the near and far future.  The options range from accepting that the school is a ministry of the church and sticking with it, to stopping the school as a ministry altogether and refocusing our resources in another direction.  And there are any number of possibilities in between.    Then I was asked to lead a memorial service for a dear grandmother of a family here in Galveston.  The kids grew up in Jamaica Beach, and they remember great times spent with her there.  Since she died in Idaho, however, they wanted to do something special here with just their immediate family.  Very sweet thought.  I met them at the church and we went out to the beach for a few words of remembrance, some encouraging scripture, and a prayer.  Then they released some eco-friendly balloons into the air as an expression of love and honor.    Finally, Mom was having some memory issues again, along with her physical aches and pains.   After the intense emotions of this past weekend, it was kind of hard to get going at all, much less get up for three really tough situations.  Welcome to the ministry, I guess.  I sure am glad for passages like the ones I have been reading the past few days.  The 23rd Psalm.  Peace in the middle of - and all the way through - the struggles surrounding death.  Revelation 21:3-4.  That's the no more death, no more sorrow, no more crying, no more pain passage.  John 14:1-3.  Stop letting your hearts be troubled.  Believe.  Indeed.    Romans 8:26-28 says, "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.  And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will.  And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."   Father, do some good-workings in the lives of these families who are hurting.  Not so much "understanding" as "comfort anyway."  Amen.