An Unexpected Joy

An unexpected phone call last Wednesday morning led M and I to turn around (we had both just arrived at work) get the oil changed in our car and head south.  Tuesday evening M lost his childhood best friend; we didn't yet know when the funeral would be but- even though they hadn't talked since high school- M knew we needed to be there.  So we just picked up and left.

We drove over 1,000 miles down to Florida, spending the night in Nashville, then again with Mason's parents in Alabama, finally arriving into Pensacola on Friday morning.  By some gracious gift of God (I really believe that's what it was) my immediate family and some of my extended family were on their annual trip to Destin and M and I were able to spend a few hours with them, before mentally and emotionally preparing ourselves for Saturday morning's funeral (the visitation on Friday was just too much to handle we decided).

But what we found at the funeral wasn't what had been expected.  In high school, M's friend had gotten involved with the wrong crowd, the wrong things.  And we didn't have much hope for a happy ending.  So when the crowds pushed in (and there really was a crowd) and the family walked in, my eyes began to tear up.

But then someone began to speak.  Rather than hearing a story of despair, fast lives and fast cars, we heard something else.  We heard about a life that had been transformed, some four years ago.  Through the funeral preacher- and the friend's notes in his Bible- we got to see inside the very private, spiritual musings of a young man whose life had changed.  We heard of a man who had discovered who he truly was and what he was made for; and who wanted to tell others about what he himself had realized.  We listened to the story of a man who found peace, with himself and with the world.

And at that point, my tears stopped.  Suddenly this wasn't just another "sad story" of a "good kid gone bad." It was yet another amazing story- an incredible reminder- of redemption.  Tragic, yes, and to be mourned, for sure.  And yet...there was something more there.  A peace that was so much bigger than the casket in front of us.  Almost as if, even in death, the friend was not defeated.  It was a simple reminder that lessened, even if just a little, the sting of death and loss.

And in that moment, there was an unexpected joy.