Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Matthew 5:4

I penciled in to write this verse two months ago and it’s a fitting verse. You see, today I returned from my uncle’s funeral. It was a moving experience for all who attended. What mourners need most, especially in this culture and at funerals, is to be comforted.

Thousands of tears were shed today. Loud. Silent. Polite. And many were asking “why?” Why now? Why him? Why are we laying him in the ground today? Why, why, why? These are very reasonable questions. Obviously we can’t know the answers. All the best platitudes in the world (i.e., “he’s in a better place,” “he’s with his wife now,” etc etc) can’t answer those questions.

But what I noticed alongside the tears (and tissues) were hugs, lots and lots of hugs. Many of the hugs were longer than the “it’s good to see you again” hugs. People were truly comforting each other, just like The Good Book tells us.