I just got back from my first LG funeral. They had a service for the little girl that passed away with leukemia, and then we all headed up to the cemetery. The priest and other community members said a few words, the little girl's friends put flowers on the pink-and-white casket, and then they lowered it.
And then we all stood and watched as the men and boys of our community took turns filling in that hole.
The ones filling in that hole were people that I know -- boys that I teach, kids that I play with at Kids Club, a teacher from the high school. I watched them take shovelful after shovelful and toss them in on top of the casket, working until someone else stepped up and tapped them on the shoulder, just like in the old movies when a guy cuts in on another guy's dance with a lady. They shoveled and shoveled; the wind blew; we stood there and watched.
The whole time, I kept wondering how many other holes these teenagers have filled in. What names and faces and stories come to mind as they stand by yet another pile of dirt on that windy hill, helping their community say goodbye to someone they love? Kids shouldn't have to be experienced at burying each other.
There was a verse on the front of the handout we got at the funeral. Psalm 80:3. "Rouse Your power, and come to save us."
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