In the span of just eight weeks I have attended four funerals,
including two in two days.
As I age and approach the euphemistically named Golden Years
along with my friends and family, I suppose it shouldn’t come as a surprise to
me if I find myself in mourning more often.
But that explanation doesn’t fit the reality of these four deaths. Three of the four deaths were
unexpected. Those friends died well
before reaching their normal life expectancy.
One was in his forties, and two were not even retired yet.
In addition to my shock and grief, I came to learn some
sobering realities of the void these deaths left in the surviving families,
including the financial burdens they will experience. There’s lost income with no provision for
replacing it. One of the deceased
handled all the finances and left the spouse pretty much clueless of how to
function in that role. The expense of
the funeral weighed on the survivors, too.
Perhaps it was the sheer number of friends dying in such a
short period of time that caused me to examine my own life a little more
closely than I have in the past on such occasions. Some of that entails money.
Have I made adequate provision for my wife in the event of my death? She has paid the bills before. But does she still know which ones are due
and when? The passwords to our online bank
and investment accounts? Is the will up
to date? Correct beneficiaries named and
information recorded for all accounts?
But above and beyond the financial ramifications of losing a
loved one, shouldn’t that also teach us something of life’s fragility? My wife talked to one of the friends just
hours before her death, and in hindsight she is very glad she took the time to
do so. As much as I love to talk and
write about money, I pray that I always remember that there are many, many
things that money could never buy, including friends and family and time spent
with them. Time will always be more
precious than gold. As I’ve written
before, build a life and not just a nest egg.
As I consider all this, I rejoice in the happy event of a
friend’s wedding this week, a relative of one of the deceased. So life goes on. I will pray for this couple’s life together
and for decades of happiness ahead for them.
Time. But I can’t help
myself: In addition to the gift I bought
them I’m also giving them a book about marriage and money.
Until next time,
Roger
“It is better to go
to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the
destiny of everyone; the living should take this to heart.” Proverbs 7:2 NIV®*
*Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible, New
International Version® NIV®
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™
Used by permission.
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