A holiday can be both a good and bad thing. Labor Day always throws me off for the rest of the week. It's hard enough for me to remember what day it is without having an extra "off" day to confuse me even more. Most of today was spent trying to turn this Tuesday into a Monday. The good part of the day was getting to spend most of it with my son. He had a checkup at the doctor so we just hit the road together. It was two guys in a pickup truck with nothing but road to keep us going. That is a good day even if my memory is faulty.



We headed off to the doctor with more than enough time for travel. Our physician moved twice over the last few years. Now she is about 45 minutes from home. All went well until we arrived at the intersection of the highway and the interstate. There we faced the dreaded one lane traffic due to construction. First, he decided to hop out of the truck to see what the traffic jam was all about. It seems that he referred to the problem as slowpokes. Patience is not his strong suit. Then, we finally got going and as we passed the man holding the slow/stop sign he rolled down his window and yelled "great job" to the worker. My guess is that it was one of the better things this man heard from impatient drivers.



After the doctor finished up we ate a bite then headed back to Longview. I wanted to catch my patient who is recovering from her injuries in that tragic automobile accident. He got to push all the buttons on our elevator ride up to the floor. We visited a short while and he was a super great kid. My fear was he would decide to sit up on her bed which would be unpleasant to say the least for her. Thankfully, we left before any damage was done to those in the room. We made it home without him shouting at anymore people on the side of the road.



Much of my day is still taken up with plans for the memorial service this weekend. It seems that my chief role is to be the go between with family, school and church. I met with a relative who will also be speaking at the funeral on Saturday. My hope and prayer is that all the many issues can come together in a way that is comforting without being a marathon observance. This will be a difficult service tho I am not sure it is the worst funeral of my career. My view is that part of my role is to do all that is possible to comfort the grieving without letting this moment become like a circus. Let me just offer a personal observation based on my professional experience. It is very easy for such an occasion to be overwhelmed with people that feel the need to make a comment at the very least. Most, if not all of these who step forward have the very best of intentions. It's very difficult for a grieving family to say no to those who suddenly feel the urge to share a poem or experience. No doubt that all of these people mean well but it can become a bit much on a family whose foremost desire is to have closure. This puts the minister in a no win situation. It is his main function to guide a family through the elements of grief in as pain free way as possible. Yet sometimes the best of intentions may open up the worst of emotions.



The point of all of this is to offer a glimpse into what it is that your minister deals with in times like this. A good minister wants to blend the personal with the biblical to offer genuine comfort in times of loss. This is my target as the memorial approaches. We don't want families to feel left out of any planning process. My role is to be a source of advice along with the comfort that is needed. Perhaps we may need to clear this post up at a later date. It's not the type of topic one wants to leave unclear. My hope is you will remember that your minister, wherever he is, serves as both Christian comfort and personal assistance. This is how it all comes together for counsel to move us through life's darkest valley.

Bro. Trey