What will happen to you when you breathe your last? After 127 years of life and a long marriage to Abraham, Sarah died in Hebron. Apparently, Abraham had not done any pre-funeral planning, so he needed a place to bury the love of his life. After he wept, he negotiated with the local citizens. As a nomadic resident alien, he had not acquired any land to bury Sarah. So he bought the cave of Machpelah from Ephron. Sarah was buried there in the cave until Abraham was placed there by his sons at a later time.
On a few occasions I have been with my family as we purchased funeral plots. I helped mom when her brother Sonny died. We walked around Llano cemetery in Amarillo looking for the right place. Sonny’s parents and lots of cousins are buried there. We found a spot.
Last fall just before our mother went home to be with the Lord, my brothers and I gathered to find a casket and a place for mom’s burial. It helped me understand what so many of my friends have gone through. Where do you bury the person who gave you life? Llano cemetery in Amarillo was too far from family today, even though her family is buried there. We found a place in McKinney near where my brothers live.
Do you know what bothered me? My mom had lived her last twenty plus years alone. The director said, “You just need a single, spot, right?” As we walked around I thought about how we were burying her alone. I know absent from the body, she is present with the Lord, but where we put her body seemed very important to me. Who would read her tombstone, buried out there all alone? It bothered me. Through tears I told a young pastor friend who reminded me, “It’s true. You buried her alone. But you also buried her aloneness there. Now with the Father, she will never be alone again.” I needed to hear that.
