Eulogizing My Parents

Crafting these eulogies proved to be a journey through raw emotion, driven by the strength I found in God and the values instilled by my parents. The experience was not only an honor but a testament to the profound impact they had on my life. Hebrews 11:38 and the double entendre of Psalm 17 serve as touchstones for their enduring faithfulness and generosity. By sharing this journey, my hope is to offer encouragement and inspiration, whether you knew my parents or are searching for strength in your own life. Come along as I pay tribute to my parents' incredible lives and invite you to be part of this journey.

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Chapters

• 0:00 Audio Memoir
• 6:43 Parental Funeral Eulogies

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Here for the memories thought-provoking audio memoir shorts filled with stories, humor, anecdotes and commentary on social, cultural, business and religious issues. Whatever Lyndon remembers and thinks will entertain, challenge and inform is a possible subject. The collection of memories about one's life allows for the development and refinement of a sense of self, including who one is, how one has changed and what one might be like in the future.

Speaker 2: 0:36

Greetings and salutations. This is Lyndon Wolfe and you have reached my audio memoir here for the Memories, not a podcast, I remind you, so glad you joined. This is primarily for those that know and love me, though that number is small Just to share a little bit about who I am, my experiences, my values, my thoughts, my opinions, so that when I leave this planet they might have something to remember me by. They might not read my memoir, but little, short excerpts by audio might be more palatable. Speaking of leaving this planet, no greater honor has been bestowed on me ever, no greater credential, ever or more meaningful than preaching the funeral of both my mother and father. In both cases, as their end drew nigh, I slipped into a pastoral Airbnb to finalize crafted words with painful detail and raw emotion. I bled on the keyboard as I realized that what I said would always be a poor facsimile of who they actually were. Every effort to describe them was woefully inadequate, but the exercise of capturing their character and essence in 20 minutes was well worth the excruciation. Nothing else but God's supernatural strength possessing me to rise above my lamentation and pain at their loss, would allow me to deliver eulogies worthy of my parents, and it was well beyond my human limitations. But more than that, they were tributes to a couple that would serve all of us well as spousal and parental models. In both cases, the content was crafted over several years and took many hours of labor. You see, I wanted every word, phrase and sentence to honor my parents' lives, and I believe that was accomplished. As much as I could, I also wanted my delivery to reflect the depth and power of the words that I had written, and I believe that, amazingly, was accomplished as well. Lives so well lived deserved a sermon that was just as well done, Although I believe that some people's lives are so exemplary that, metaphorically, they preach their own sermons. But I wanted to add to their living sermons words that reflected just how special they were.

Speaker 2: 3:18

The theme for my dad's service was Hebrews 11 38. The first phrase was the key and the world was not worthy of them. The writer says More in keeping with the vernacular. The New Living Translation renders the Greek as they were too good for this world. To me, no other phrase in the English language better captures the essence of my Father.

Speaker 2: 3:43

Although the passage is referring to long-suffering yet faithful saints of old, it described him beautifully as well Faithful from beginning to end, faithful in the little things as well as the big ones, faithful to friends, family, his church and his Heavenly Father. Most importantly, I've always said that if I were to be half the man my father was, I would end up exceptional. One lighter note Dad had a great sense of humor. He worked at the same company for 42 years and on the last day he worked the day of his retirement, which he regretted, by the way, even though he was well into his 70s. Anyway, he got into the office early so he could prepare the coffee, and he did, but he switched the caffeinated and the decaffeinated coffee, unbeknownst to the rest of the crew. He said halfway through the morning. There were two groups of people. One group was a nervous wreck and the other was taking a nap.

Speaker 2: 4:41

The synopsis of my mother's spirit was found in the double entendre of Psalm 17. Her beloved Living Bible translation reads that as for me, my contentment is not in wealth but in seeing you and knowing all is well between us. And when I awake in heaven, I will be fully satisfied, for I will see you face to face. I always believed that from the time of my father's death until hers, she had both him and her savior in mind, as she kept this truth in her heart. If Dad was faithful, she was devoted devoted to so many and willing to sacrifice in this life to gain in the next. Always ready to give bountifully, quick to show love. Her servant's heart was a great model for me and many others, especially those 10th grade girls that over the many years she taught in Sunday school class I know she had a tremendous impact on them. My mother was a tremendous giver, you know.

Speaker 2: 5:49

Later in life, well into her 90s, I was at her house when I saw an old Baptist hymnal and Baptist hymnals are hard to come by and I said, well, where did you get this? Because they're not typically something you can buy from a Christian bookstore, at least not in the quantity of one. And she said, well, I got it from the church. I said, well, how did that happen? She said, well, we moved to a more contemporary hymnal and I didn't like a lot of those songs, but I did like the songs in this older traditional hymnal. I said, so, the church gave it to you. No, I stole it. I said you stole it, yes, I took it. As much money as I've given to that church. The least I could get out of it was this old hymnal that was going into the trash.

Speaker 2: 6:43

Strange as it might sound, these funerals rank near the top, very top, of my life experiences. Once again, I felt as if I was supernaturally journeyed to a place beyond my human limitations and did as much as I could to honor them and extol their Savior. I don't think, looking back, I would change a word, phrase or sentiment, and that's more than I could ask for. Thank you, mother and Dad, for making your eulogies so easy to write and deliver, something you started preparing me for from the time I was 13 years old. And thank you for joining me, lyndon Wolfe and my audio memoir here for the Memories. I hope you found encouragement, strength, inspiration, something from the sharing of the stories about me having the honor and privilege of preaching my parents' funeral services.

Speaker 1: 7:46

God bless, create and deliver it. Please consider a small contribution. Just go to buymeacoffeecom slash here for the memories. That's buymeacoffeecom slash here for the memories. Much appreciated.