"A time to be born, and a time to die." -Ecclesiastes When Terry Tempest Williams spoke at her brother Steve's funeral she called his coffin "Steve's traveling box." I like ring of a "traveling box" more than the word "coffin" but I'm afraid it's a bit of an oxymoron.
Last night I met some other women at the mortuary in Los Gatos to dress a deceased woman who used to be in our ward. The first time I was asked to assist in dressing the dead for burial was in Seattle when I served as RS president. I was fear struck at the thought but mustered up enough courage to give it my best shot.
I was amazed that first time how something that sounded creepy turned out to be a really sweet and tender experience. Since then I've probably helped a half dozen times. Each time I've felt a strong sense of the divine nature of our bodies and the reality of a spirit that lives beyond the grave.
When I dressed Vanda Romney with her two daughter in-laws, Susan and Wendy, there was a such a feeling of love and adoration for a beloved woman of God. Sister Romney was a class act! But when Carol Maynes son, Jason, died at two weeks old, it was heartbreaking to dress Jason and place his 6 pound body in a miniature casket.
When Kathy Pulley and I dressed Roberta Vitale we almost dropped her on the ground! Accidentally, of course! The mortician was kind of a ogre (apology to Shrek) and wasn't being very helpful! And, they had not dealt correctly with her head wound (cause of death) and I ended up getting blood on my hands. Which is probably more information than you wanted! Perhaps this whole post is TMI!
Anyway, the lady we dressed last night was elderly (74 but seemed older) and not someone we knew closely which makes the experience easier in some ways. Although this situation was complicated by the fact that she was extra large in size. That term "dead weight" was coined appropriately.
I've always been astonished at the Miracle of Birth in any form. Babies or animals, it is quite amazing to witness life begin, that first breath! Nothing quite like it! Yet, there is also a Miracle of Death. It's very different to clothe a lifeless body, but there is something miraculous about a dead body where the spirit is no longer housed.
"For death is no more than a turning of us over from time to eternity. -William Penn
