Wow.

I attended the funeral yesterday of a woman I didn’t know. She was the mother of a close friend, and in an effort to support him three other guys and I cleared our calendars, piled in a car and drove 200 miles one way to be with him in his time of grief. It was an amazing day.

My friend’s mother suffered a stroke ten years ago. She lost much of her speaking ability, but she did have one word that she could say clearly and with great conviction–Wow. Wow became her best response for everything: A friend would come to see her–Wow; how was your dinner-Wow; how are you feeling today–Wow. It’s hard to have a bad outlook on life when your preconditioned response to just about everything is Wow.

The woman’s Wow spirit was very prevalent through her funeral yesterday. So much so, in fact, that many of us in the congregation found ourselves saying it throughout the service:

As her son and two daughters stood bravely to publicly remember their mother–Wow
As her grandchildren read poems in her honor–Wow
As a gifted musician sang a song she had written for the occasion–Wow
As we laughed raucously at some of the stories of this woman’s life–Wow
As we celebrated her unwavering faith even in the face of illness and death–Wow
As her 15-year-old granddaughter led us in worship to conclude the service–Wow
And as we reflected on the fact that this woman’s first word in heaven must have been Wow–Wow.

You know someone’s life has been lived well when you walk out of his or her funeral and the first tear-choked word out of your mouth is Wow. Such was the case yesterday.

Friends, embrace the reality of the Wow of God that is all around us. It will change you and the lives of all around you.