Once I officiated at the funeral of a gentleman who had been almost 92 years old when he died. He had led, according to the world’s standards, a quite ordinary life. His vocation was nothing unusual. He had no hobbies that made the newspapers.
His particular gift was singing. He sang in churches, both in choirs and sometimes performing solos. His family and friends said that he sang all the time. As is my habit, I asked members of the audience to share stories about some of the times he might break out into song.
A hand went up and a smiling face said, “When waiting in line at a restaurant, he would ask the maitre d’ if he could sing. Sometimes they would say yes, and sometimes, no.” Many heads nodded in agreement. Another said, “when he visited us up north, he would go out in the road in front of our neighbor’s house and start singing early, and loudly, “O What a Beautiful Morning.”
Then a lady in the front row, sitting with the family, slowly raised her hand. She said, “At an older age, I adopted three young children. Randy would call now and then, late in the evening, and just start singing in the phone to me, singing a hymn, something beautiful and restful. When he finished, he would say, “Now, go to bed, and have a good night’s sleep.” And I would.
I couldn’t help but saying right then, what a beautiful drop of Grace that was!
© 2007, John C. Fitts, III. All Rights Reserved. Reprinted from Grace Drops, Volume 5 (2007).