Mike had just finished working on the next issue of No Greater Joy. I was looking forward to things settling down.

Now maybe I could focus on finishing a couple of writing projects. Maybe I wouldn’t have such a difficult time collecting my thoughts…

Tuesday morning, December 1, 2009 we received news that Mike’s mother had died during the night. This meant that we had to notify family quickly because the burial would be within 24 hours. Mike went back to the building site where he had been working on our house. He needed some time to do some hard labor.

I busied myself with the many details that now filled the day. The weather promised rain. Before I got too far along, we were in for yet another surprise. Mike fell from the scaffolding. His wrist was badly hurt.

A trip to the emergency room revealed that the wrist was broken. We were sent to another specialist where Mike received the news that he would need surgery. They scheduled the pre-operative work-up for the next day — the same day as the funeral.

Wednesday morning dawned rainy. I didn’t think many would attend, but we had EXTRA people on hand for the burial and remembrance. Mike didn’t have anything prepared to say, but he didn’t have to speak. Mike’s younger brother, Steven sang and played the guitar then began sharing sweet and often hilarious stories of their mom during their growing up years. Then Mike and his sisters began to share their favorite memories. Everyone joined in with their own recollections, jokes, pranks, funny stories and remembered the testimony of how she was saved. We sang and we laughed and we rejoiced for the gift of a life that touched so many. It wasn’t a long service but it was a precious time.

We had to leave an hour after starting in order to take Mike for the blood and heart tests required before his surgery the next day (Thursday). As we made our way to the hospital, Mike told me that this was the way all funerals should be. I wholeheartedly agree!