Details, Details

"Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered."

Luke 12:7

Details are pretty important most of the time. Telling an interesting story requires details. I'm not a very interesting storyteller since I can rarely remember details, much less be able to convey them in an interesting manner. (Makes me wonder why I decided to write a blog...but I digress.) There are a few times in my life that I can remember many little details about incidents that have occurred. One of those times is when Kati and I drove from Pigeon Forge, TN to UAB in Birmingham after she got the call about a kidney transplant. I've told this story before so long story short, we were on vacation and got the call. It was the last night before we were going home so most of our stuff was already packed. Our dogs were already taken care of because of us being out of town. So when she got the call, even though it was late at night, everything was ready for us to be there. Oh, and it was a perfectly matched kidney! God was definitely in the details that day and the several days that followed.

Another more recent example of God's attention to detail happened on the day of Kati's funeral. I don't really remember much about that day, honestly, but this part of the day I remember clearly. I think Mrs. Linda, Kati's mom, and I both tried to explain the story on that day but I am not sure how well that was conveyed at the time. For context (and detail), I'll back up a few years. Around the time Kati and I got married, she and I had a conversation about funerals. She told me that she wanted me and her mom to speak at her funeral since we knew her best. I was pretty hesitant since I'm not one to get up and speak in front of people. So time went on and we started getting involved in the church I had been attending. She got involved in several ministries there and grew to love our church.

So after Kati passed away, our pastor, Bro. Bradley, was there at the hospital. As soon as I saw him, that conversation that Kati and I had years earlier popped in my head. I talked to him about doing the service and told him what Kati originally wanted but that was before she got involved at Mt. Gilead and I really believed that she would want him to do the service. The whole time I am thinking about that conversation and wondering if I need to get up and say something at her funeral. So, on the day of the funeral, the family was served lunch before the service. I visited with a few people before getting my food and started looking around for a seat. There was a seat open next to Kati's mom and so I thought I would sit down and see how she was doing. Before I even got started eating good, she looks at me and says that she feels like she needs to get up at the funeral service and say something. I was shocked. I'd never said anything to anyone about the conversation that Kati and I had until the day she passed. I'd kind of forgotten about it until then. And then three days later on the day of Kati's funeral her mom says that to me. So I told her what Kati told me years earlier and asked her if Kati had said anything about that. And then her mom was shocked too. That was the first time she had ever heard anything about that. We didn't really decide anything at that moment but I think we both knew. So the service starts and I am sitting next to Mrs. Linda. We were singing one of the songs we had selected for the service and she looks over at me and asked me if I wanted to get up and speak. I get up and get Bro. Brad's attention and tell him what's going on. If we had planned it, I really am not sure I could have gone through with it. Because I didn't have any time to think about it and had to rely on my heart and God to do the talking, I actually was able to get up and speak at my wife's funeral.

I dont really remember much about what was said while we were both up there together but I do know one thing. On the hardest day of both of our lives, God was there. He had all the details worked out. He wasn't shocked by any of it like the both of us were. I wouldn't have been able to get up in front of all those people there if it wasn't for Him. Honestly, I would not have been able to get through the days since that day if it wasn't for Him.