Funeral wakes

People who know me know i hate going wakes. Okie, i know you're probably going to say "who likes wakes" right? But you know what i mean...I feel extremely uncomfortable going to a wake simply because I don't know how to react at one. So everytime I'm informed of a death in someone's family, I'd think of a thousand and one excuses not to be there (tho' sometimes these excuses are somewhat valid. :P ) I'd do anything, give bai jin, send encouraging smses, write cards.... just NOT attend a funeral wake. I don't know what to say, what to do, etcetc. I just feel damn out of place at a wake. Usually i'd try to tag along with someone so it will be less awkward...for me anyways.

The passing of my mentor's grandmother brought me to Mt Vernon on Tuesday evening.

No matter how much i dislike attending wakes, this was one which I had to go, simply because I know that I needed to be there for my mentor, just to show that I care and that my heart goes out to him and his family in this time of grief. This has not been an easy period of time for him at all. What's with all that's happening at church, and now this, I could see him struggling to keep the faith strong.

In the 9+ years that I've known him, I've heard him share about his grandmother a number of times.... especially how he yearned to be able to share the gospel to her, but how her physical weaknesses (unable to hear) hindered that. When he shared with us how his grandmother brought him and his 8 siblings up, how she imparted the basic values in their young lives, I could see him holding the tears back.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Will we be ready when death comes?