Final Farewell
Susan H
Mr. Wang is 77 years old and lives in a nursing home. His wife died suddenly of an illness in April, which made him very sad. When the news came, we immediately went to his bedside to comfort him. We learnt that his daughter would come from America to take care of funeral arrangements. Because Mrs. Wang had died away from home and been cremated, their daughter planned on taking her ashes directly to the funeral parlor and not to the nursing home, where Mr. Wang was.
I remember the day when Mr. Wang learnt of the actual plan for his wife’s ashes. It was already past five o’clock in the afternoon and everyone was getting ready to go home. Mr. Wang couldn’t eat—he was so grieved that he wouldn’t be able to bid farewell to his wife. He really wanted to send her off from the nursing home, only he was worried that his daughter wouldn’t agree.
A sense of mission filled my heart—I felt I must help him fulfil his wish. We contacted his daughter and told her what Mr. Wang hoped for. The process was not easy, but thankfully his daughter agreed to detour to the nursing home before heading to the funeral parlor with the ashes.
We waited with Mr. Wang at the gate of the nursing home,
watching the car approach slowly. His daughter came out of the car and said to her father, “You won’t be able to see anything.” The urn was in a box. Mr. Wang reached for the box with a loving touch, before he reluctantly walked away. His desire to bid farewell to his wife was fulfilled.
The verse from Malachi 4:6 came to me: “He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents.”
