Agnes and William had been...
Illustration
Agnes and William had been married sixty years. For the most part they'd been good years -- marred only by their inability to have children and by the deaths of family members and close friends. Then William died. Agnes was overcome by grief. Over and over again she said, "Now I'm all alone. I'm the only one left in my family." At the cemetery, she wept in a friend's arms and said, "Now I won't see my William until I get to heaven. What am I going to do? I'm all alone now." Agnes had a hard time leaving the cemetery to go back to the church for a time of fellowship. As the funeral director started to lead her toward the car, she wailed, "I can't leave my William here! We'll both be all alone." Agnes' friends were worried. They knew that William's death would be hard for Agnes, but they hadn't anticipated her fear of being alone. The sound of Agnes' crying rang in the mourner's ears as they headed back to the church. At the church the pastor prayed, "Heavenly Father, you have made us your family through Baptism. Help us to support Agnes as she thinks about William. By the power of your Holy Spirit, help Agnes to realize that we are your adopted children. Bless this food to our use and us to your service so that as your family we can reach out to all those who are in any type of need. Amen." Agnes was quiet during the luncheon. It was obvious that she was deep in thought. Just as she was beginning to leave she turned to a friend, and with tears running down her face, said: "I'm not really alone because I have my church family."
-- Molldrem
-- Molldrem
