We had Helen's Funeral yesterday. Due to the expected high numbers, they had to move the funeral service to Snellville Church of Christ. It holds 600. It was almost filled to capacity. The funeral procession to the graveside in Athens (40 Miles away) was so long, at no time could you see both ends at the same time. By the time the last cars were there, the first half were already standing by the graveside.
The funeral was beautiful and moving. Kristy (mom) was able to temporarily leave Shepherd's Spinal Center for attendance. While there were tears, she almost looked like the old Kristy! Her beautiful smile was still there. Her motorized wheels served her well.
Helen's grandfather read a children's story that her aunt \wrote, called "H is for Helen". It was a child's version of Helen's first day in Heaven, where she met Noah, Jonah, Mary and Jesus. Those were her favorite Bible stories during her short life.
Helen's father, Brian, spoke a few minutes on what Helen's short life meant, and why she had to live. He spoke with tears, and joy. While his heart was breaking, as was evident by his tears, he managed to give a short sermon on why her life was so short, and all the good she managed to do during her short time on earth. More importantly, he managed to make US feel better. Better that we had known Helen, but more importantly better because we knew what we had to do to get to where Helen was.
Our preacher, Bro Larry, gave a short sermon (and for Bro. Larry that was no short feate! Short and Sermon are never two words you use together in describing him!) In it he used Damien as an example of how children have a better handle on death than adults do. I knew the story was coming, but that did not keep me from being hit hard by it. (Amanda, Tasha, and Darlene however did not know it was coming and it hit them pretty hard too.)
We had multiple prayers led by Helen's uncles and grand fathers, and the congregational singing of some of Helen's favorite songs led by another uncle.
It was very evident to see that Helen came from a very special family...almost every male in her family is a preacher. One of her grandfathers is an elder and two cousins are deacons.
She will be deeply missed.
Jeanne
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