THE older you get, the more frequent the funerals.
At the tender and youthful age of 48, I wouldn't yet consider myself in the autumn of my years, although the grey hair is thinning a little on top and the knees are creaking a little.
This afternoon, Swindon turned out in force for the funeral of BBC presenter Sandy Martin. The sun shines on the righteous, and so it shone brilliantly for the ever-smiling Scot who died of a brain tumour three weeks ago at the tender age of 53.
How cruel the loss. How true that God often takes the good of this earth well before their time.
The vicar at Christ Church, the Rev Simon Stevenette, posed the question in his sermon at Sandy's funeral as to why does God do this?
Sandy Martin was an absolute Saint; a wonderful man with kindness rooted in his heart. How could God allow such an early departure of someone possessing so much goodness in his life?
Simon paused, and offered: "The answer is, I don't know". No pious sermon, no patronising explanation to the congregation. Just the truth.
How can God wreak such disaster, cause so much pain on his people; a tsunami in Japan, an earthquake in New Zealand, or even the murder of 22-year-old Sian O'Callaghan in Swindon two weeks ago?
I met Sian's mother, Elaine, last week along with her partner Peter. They were still in shock, but holding up remarkably well.
Elaine didn't ask why had her daughter been taken away from her - she was simply glad that she had been found, that she was back with the family. Never would Elaine ever have to wonder what happened to her daughter. Never would she have to look around her at a brunette passing by, wondering if that person might be Sian.
Oddly, the question Elaine asked when we met was "why are so many people interested in Sian? Why was it big news in the newspapers and on TV?"
All I could reply was that people across the nation were shocked at what had happened to her daughter; a pretty young lady with her life ahead of her. People could identify with Sian - a beautiful girl with a smiling face who could be their daughter, sister, niece or granddaughter. How would we feel to lose a child so young?
The human spirit is remarkably strong. For the family for Sandy Martin and Sian O'Callaghan their faiths must be strongly tested at times like this. There is no explanation for why their lives were cut cruelly short.
Maybe we will never know why the good die young.
It was a moving service for sandy and that's for sure
ReplyDeleteSo many people who would never have got a foot in the
Door at the BBC and a career in the fickle radio industry owe a huge
Amount of respect and thanks to sandy for making it happen. Me included
May he rest in peace.