We had to bury a 14 year old boy today.  What I mean is, the funeral home I work for did calling hours and then a grave side service for a fourteen year old drowning victim.  To think that last week, this young man was alive and well, surrounded by a loving family.  Then today, he was lying in a box for all to see, prepped and ready for burial at the local cemetery.
     I haven't been a funeral attendant for long.  I can count the number of funerals I assisted on both hands.  Of all the funerals I've assisted so far, this was the one that caused me to sit up and take notice.  All the previous funerals I assisted at were for older people; people who were expected to pass on because of their age.  But this...
    I know very little about the young man.   I went into work this morning, not knowing who had passed, to be honest.  I recall waking up early this morning, feeling the need to pray and do Bible reading (something I should do every morning, anyway, but have been neglecting), and praying during my entire drive to work. 
    One of the first things I do when I walk into the funeral home is check the guest register to acquaint myself with who the deceased is and who are the surviving family members.  I read the name and see the age all on the first page.  For privacy reasons, I'll say I read the name John D.  this morning.  When I saw the age of 14, I had to do a double take.  14?  I thought that maybe there was a typo.  Did they mean 74?  One of my co-workers confirmed that it was not a typo.  I felt like the rug got pulled out from under me.  I didn't even know the boy and I felt this way.  Imagine how the mother and father must have felt.  Words escape me.
    I could tell my coworkers were affected by this one.  Usually, there's a lot of jesting and bantering going on between them.  They're like family, in a way, goofing off or teasing one another.  There was none of that kind of behavior this morning.  If anything, everyone seemed to be on edge and snapped at each other.  Normally, I'm not one to get on my trac-phone and text my family (since I'm not very good at texting with those phones), but I felt the need to get on and ask for my family to pray. 
    I'm reminded of the verse in Ecclesiastes 11:9  "You who are young, be happy while you are young, and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth. Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see, but know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment."   I don't claim to know the fate of this young man's soul.  All I know is that he went swimming a few days ago on a hot summer day, happy and care free, and ended up drowning instead of returning home that same day.  Then, today, he lay in a box for all his grieving family to see.  May the family feel the prayers and experience God's comfort.  I don't know how else to end this blog except to say that my heart aches for all of them.