Final Call

This morning I attended my cousin's funeral. Last year he was diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer, and although he started treatments and fought as hard as he could, he lost the battle with this terrible disease last Sunday night. He left behind a wife, a 15 year old daughter, a 13 year old son, a 1 year old son, his parents, his brothers and sister, and a slew of family members and friends.


I don't usually describe funerals as beautiful, but I think this one came close. Among the many personal touches added to the service, his brother, his nephew, and even his wife all got up and spoke. Although it was sad, they made it real; it was a true celebration of his life.


I shed a few tears, there weren't many there who didn't, but I made it through relatively okay. That is, until we were standing at the cemetery in the freezing cold at the very end of the burial service. The final song was just over, and I assumed the service was complete, when the pagers started going off all around me. It was his final call.


You see, my cousin was the fire chief of his local volunteer fire department for the past 15 years. There were fire and EMS workers there from all around the area, and all at once the quietness of the moment was filled with the shrillness of the page, followed by..."It is now time for the final call for...".


I had never experienced a final call before. Firefighters are called out all the time. It's a natural part of their lives, and has become a natural part of my life as well. But to hear that final call, to hear that tribute to a man who has spent his life serving, and to know that he will never be called out again was an incredibly heart-wrenching experience.


I'm not sure why this final call affected me so intensely. Maybe it is because I have a fairly clear understanding of what is involved when those pagers go off. The adrenaline rush, dropping everything in an instant to get to people who are in need, the potential danger. Maybe it was simply seeing the tears running down the faces of all those firefighters. Maybe it is because it's possible for my husband to receive that same final call someday.


But in reality, we will all receive a final call someday. We don't know where, when, or under what circumstances, but there's no denying it will happen. The question is, am I ready? Are you ready? Do our loved ones know how much we love them? Do they know how much God loves them?


So, to you, my friends and family who are reading this, please know how much you mean to me and how much better my life is because you are in it. Today was a good reminder that I don't say it or show it enough in the day to day busyness of life. Thank you for always being there for me.