Weddings, Funerals and Everything in Between-by Heidi McLaughlin
Posted: October 8, 2022
Being one of my children is not for the faint of heart. My daughter Michelle and my son Donovan have experienced an intense amount of heartache and suffering through the death of both of their dads. So weddings and funerals are not their first rodeo. As Donovan drove me to the ceremony where I was to be married to my second husband Jack, my son made an extraordinary statement: “Mom, weddings and funerals are very similar. Everybody gets dressed up, there are lots of flowers, there’s food, lots of tears and laughter, and there’s music and a ceremony.” My son’s words always evoke me to make me look at life from unusual angles, and obviously his statement has never left my brain.
Life is made up of seasons. Births, deaths and everything in between. Here in Canada summer is waning and it makes me melancholic and a bit sad. As I brought in patio cushions and saw my flowers cling to their last glorious moments, I already lamented the dark days of winter. I love the summer with brilliant sunlight, dinners on my deck with friends, sun on my face and family coming for visits. But I’ve learned to let go of one season and be ready to embrace the next. Recognizing that each season has its distinct meaning and purposeful beauty. Throughout my day of my lamenting it beckoned me back to the book of Ecclesiastes, which it tells us that:
“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.” (Eccl. 3:1).
There is a time for weddings, which is a time to laugh, and funerals, a time to weep. There is a “time to plant and uproot” and it was time for me to uproot some flowers and dismantle my deck. There is “a time to time to keep and a time to throw away.” It is definitely time for me to get back into my basement and garage and de-clutter things I thought I desperately needed. Then there is a “time to be silent and a time to speak.” Oh how I am learning that during the controversial days of Covid and all that it’s done to relationships. I sit on two Boards and each meeting I need to be reminded of this truth.
Take the time to read through the first nine verses of Ecclesiastes and you will be amazed how important it is to embrace all the seasons that come and go. And to recognize that each one is for a purpose to shape our lives. Oh how these verses deeply resonated with me this week, and helped me to let go of this season and embrace the next. Which season are you in and which season do you need to let go?
One response to “Weddings, Funerals and Everything in Between-by Heidi McLaughlin”
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Your writings always make me think and this one is no exception. A great thought and reminder