Praise

Two weeks ago, I lost an old friend in a really bad car accident. His name was Derrick and he was only 16 years old with his whole life ahead of him. I was an emotional wreck the rest of the week. That Friday, I attended his funeral, and I began crying the moment I saw his coffin, and to add to my tears, the church was playing some music from a band that he was in, and he was the one singing. When the service began, his mom walked into the room, already crying (she used to teach at my school, so I knew her) and I had a horrible flashback of when a friend of mine, Mrs. Dee lost her eldest daughter in a boating accident. Watching Derrick's mom cry over her son and watching Mrs. Dee cry over her daughter were two of the hardest things I ever had to experience.
During the service, a praise team got up on stage and started singing "How Great Is Our God", I hummed along the tune, but I was far too conjested from all the tears to try and sing. Then, during the song, I looked over at Derrick's mom. There she was, next to her husband and crying daughter, with her hand in the air, singing the words to the song, praising God.
This was the moment where I was completely bawling. She was praising God, at her own son's funeral. It really made me think, "if she's able to stand there, praise her Father in Heaven, her Father who took her son away from her, and praising God isn't exactly the first thing I think about when I'm hurting." There's no way I could ever feel the pain she felt that day, at this point in my life, and yet, she was praising God for everything.
That day I couldn't tell if that was the hardest thing I'd ever witnessed, or the most beautiful. But I know one thing for sure, I walked out of Derrick's funeral a changed person.
Rest in Peace Derrick. May our memories of you last forever.