I attended a funeral today for a newborn that came into this world with an unforeseen heart problem. The baby's name was TyLee and she passed away only a few hours after she was born. Both her mother and her dad were children who played with my own children, and I watched them grow up here in my home town. After losing my own four year old grandson back in December, painful memories came back to me quickly when I saw that young child lying in that small white coffin, surrounded by grieving parents, grandparents, family and friends. It just doesn’t seem right, and I don’t know that I will ever understand why these young ones have to leave so soon. It was a beautiful funeral with the usual flowers and talks by both of the grandfathers, along with several musical numbers by the congregation and the family of this little girl. The grandfathers and the father were also the pall bearers. There was a large crowd present that filled the chapel, mostly family. It’s too bad that it takes a funeral to bring a family together. If it were a family reunion, I bet you wouldn’t see half that many people gathered together. My daughter was with me at this funeral and we went with the family out to the cemetery for the dedication of the grave. What happened next is something I have never witnessed at a funeral. Someone brought out about 20 to 25 helium balloons that were colored either pink or light green and handed one to each of the children gathered around the gravesite. The children with the balloons all gathered together and then released the balloons at the same time. It was truly beautiful to watch those balloons as they rose into the clear blue sky to drift away as we all watched until they were barely visible to our sight. I turned to my daughter and said, "now isn’t that interesting, when have you ever seem the wind blow due east in our home town"? Now I believe that the spirit leaves the body when a person dies and returns to our Father in Heaven. Some people might think that the spirit stays close by until after the body is laid to rest . As for myself, I think that I would like to stick around just long enough to see who comes to my funeral and see if they fight over who gets my guns. Some people say that our Savior resides in the heavens above us. As for me, I can’t say for sure exactly where Heaven might be, but lately I am thinking that Heaven might truly be above us and of course, slightly to the east. Check it out for yourself and tell me what you think, Matthew 24:27
