Life Changer

Yesterday I went to the most amazing funeral I have ever been to. I know, amazing and funeral don’t usually go in the same sentence but believe me, it was. A friend of mine from college lost her husband in a tragic accident. He was hit by a car while running last Thursday morning and passed away on Friday. He left behind a wife, two young kids, and tons of family and friends. And when I say tons, I mean tons. There were over 1500 people at his funeral…including the Chick-fil-A cow. Their church has a huge field next to it and since it was such a beautiful day and a large crowd was expected they held the service out there. Everyone was asked to wear yellow and to be ready to celebrate. And celebrate they did. There were stories, laughter, songs, tears, and yellow balloons were released at the end. People driving by probably had no idea what was going on.

I want to write this post on my blog so that when there is a day I am questioning things or feeling down, I can come back here to remember this life and this funeral. It was a life changer. Jay was a coach on the soccer field and a P.E. coach at an elementary school. He loved the Lord and this was the most touching part of the funeral. His love of God shined through the whole service. One of my favorite things the pastor said was when he quoted a passage from Job (which Corinne had ironically {or divinely} been studying at the time). Job 1:21 says, “…the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” How hard would it be to feel that in this situation? I can’t imagine. But I hope that if I am ever in a situation even as close to Corinne’s that I am half as strong as she has been this past week. Her faith is keeping her strong and her family and friends will be a great support.

I think every person that walked away from that service has decided to make some kind of change in their life. I know there are parts of mine that will see positive changes in this tragic situation. Jay was able to donate his heart, kidneys, lungs, and pancreas to four different people. Imagine the life change they will experience! Jay’s youth pastor spoke at this funeral and then later posted to his blog the words he spoke. Here is the link to that. And here is a great article written on the Patch about the service.

The service ended with yellow balloons being released and “While I’m Waiting” was playing. It was a sight I hope to never forget! Even though it is hard to believe in a situation like this, God is GOOD all of the time!