Funeral for a 10-year-old

Last weekend, my wife and two oldest children, Angel (11) and Tony (10) attended the funeral of 10-year-old Caleb Schwab.  I've known Caleb's father Kansas Representative Scott Schwab since I was a teenager in Clint Sprague's Youth Group (where Scott volunteered), and my wife was friends with Scott's wife (Caleb's mom) for years while we attended the same church.

Caleb died instantly in a waterslide accident.  It's the kind of tragedy that no family could prepare for or anticipate.  Tens of thousands of people have ridden the same slide without issue.  We grieve for the loss of Caleb's life and for the years of pain this will cause his parents and three brothers.

The funeral was beautiful.  Caleb's uncle spoke of life as a vapor, here one moment, gone the next.  We don't compare the length of one vapor with another because all of them are fleeting.  So it is with our lives.  Caleb lived his 10 years with honor and put his love for Jesus on display for others to see and be influenced by.  His parents can be proud of the job they did and grateful for the time they had.

It was a good reminder to all of us to value the things that are most important.  One of the songs we sang was "It is Well with My Soul" by Horatio Spafford.  This song is made so much more significant because of the backstory which I shared with my children after the service (excerpted from Wikipedia):

This hymn was written after traumatic events in Spafford's life. The first was the death of his son at the age of 2 and the 1871 Great Chicago Fire, which ruined him financially (he had been a successful lawyer and had invested significantly in property in the area of Chicago that was extensively damaged by the great fire). His business interests were further hit by the economic downturn of 1873, at which time he had planned to travel to Europe with his family on the SS Ville du Havre. In a late change of plan, he sent the family ahead while he was delayed on business concerning zoning problems following the Great Chicago Fire. While crossing the Atlantic, the ship sank rapidly after a collision with a sea vessel, the Loch Earn, and all four of Spafford's daughters died. His wife Anna survived and sent him the now famous telegram, "Saved alone …". Shortly afterwards, as Spafford traveled to meet his grieving wife, he was inspired to write these words as his ship passed near where his daughters had died: "It is Well with My Soul" [3]

I hope I never have to endure what Horatio Spafford or Scott Schwab experienced.  But if I ever do, I hope I have the strength of character that they've exhibited.  I hope to walk through the heartache with the kind of grace I read about in Spafford's story or am seeing displayed by Scott in the midst of the pain.  I am grateful for such men of Godly character who inspire masses with the way they live.

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