New Preacher
As a young minister, I was asked by a funeral director to hold a
grave-side service for a homeless man, with no family or friends. The
funeral was to be held at a cemetery way back in the country, and this
man would be the first to be laid to rest there.
As I was not familiar with the backwoods area, I became lost! And being
the typical man did not stop for directions. I finally arrived an hour
late. I saw the backhoe and the crew, who were eating lunch, but the
hearse was no where in sight.
I apologized to the workers for my tardiness, and stepped to the side of
the open grave, where I saw the vault lid already in place. I assured the
workers I would not hold them up for long, but this was the proper thing
to do. The workers gathered around, still eating their lunch. I poured
out my heart and soul.
As I preached the workers began to say "Amen," "Praise the Lord," and
"Glory," I preached, and I preached, like I'd never preached before: from
Genesis all the way to Revelations. I closed the lengthy service with a
prayer and walked to my car.
As I was opening the door and taking off my coat, I overheard one of the
workers saying to another, "I ain't never seen anything like that before
and I've been putting in septic tanks for twenty years."
