In Eckleburg's Eyes - 11/4/2008, Part 2

On Monday night, JTH, ALK, and I were just three of many who attended the funeral of Deborah Joan Thomas (DJT) at Weaver Funeral Home. The deceased was the mother of our good friend JBT and his brother Josh. We got to see many friends including JBT’s fiancé SCB whom I had not seen since July!

JTH and ALK sat on the aisle in front of me next to JB, GAB, and GAB’s longtime girlfriend Crystal. At one point, JTH got up and an older woman sandwiched herself in the aisle despite there being empty seats available. She soon put her arm around ALK, where it rested for much of the service. No one had any idea who she was. Thankfully, I caught this surreal moment on camera.

The service was done beautifully. It began with a recording of Boyz II Men’s “A Song for Mama”. Then, my church’s pastor, LWF, spoke. DJT had been a member of the church since 1990 and both her sons joined during a DiscipleNow weekend. LWF acknowledged that in his 44 years as a pastor, she was one of only two heart transplant patients (the other being Sue Hurst who now lives in Florida). He used Psalm 51:10, 17 as his Scripture.

Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise. (Psalm 51:10, 17, NASB)

LWF spoke of DJT’s valiant battle and how she was so beloved that her TVA coworkers gave up their vacation time so that she would not lose her job. She was not afraid of death, but she wished to live to see her boys become independent. That prayer was answered. LWF closed with a poem by an anonymous author titled “He only takes the Best".

God saw that she was getting tired
And a cure was not to be.
So he put his arms around her
And whispered, “Come with me”.
With tear filled eyes we watched her suffer
And fade away
Although we loved her deeply
We could not, make her stay.
A golden heart stopped beating,
Hard working hands put to rest.
God broke our hearts to prove to usHe only, takes the best

The service concluded with the playing of Vince Gill’s 1994 hit “Go Rest High On That Mountain”.