Brisbane, 2024
Before setting off on our travels, Wendy and I had more great help from the gentlemen who had done so much to help us to find out about Uncle John's situation, when we first got in touch with him whilst Uncle John was still alive. That was at the time when he had been able to get in to the Nursing Home to see Uncle John, and so we have always been aware of his situation; we just hoped Uncle John would know and remember we loved him, and wanted to help him. Then the years passed during lockdown caused by the Corona Virus. Yet more time flowed on, until we were once again able to travel abroad, and now we hoped we'd find out what had happened, after Uncle John died.
We were not surprised at the result: it was indeed as we had expected, but it was very sad, and took some getting used to.
When his wife died, 21 years ago, Uncle John had purchased the grave next to hers, so that it would be available for him, when his time came; but it transpired Uncle John's wishes had not been followed in any way. Instead, he had been disposed of with the plainest funeral possible, a Direct Cremation, with no service or celebration of his life of any sort.
If someone had specifically requested such a "no frills" arrangement, I would always follow their wishes to the letter, but we all knew that this was definitely not what Uncle John had wanted or hoped for; there is no permanent resting place for Uncle John, and the second grave he had bought all those years ago, was sold off.
We found the news distressing, but not surprising; we had been expecting something like that, anyway.
We then decided we would visit the Salvation Army, who had also been very helpful to us back in 2020; they had been the only faith organisation willing to assist us, and we wanted to thank them for trying their best for us.
We had an uplifting meeting with one of the Officers, who understood how much we had cared for Uncle John, and how sad we were feeling, knowing what had happened to him.
Quite spontaneously, she said: "Why don't we have a little service for Uncle John right here? Right now?!"
We thought that was a beautiful thought, a truly sensitive idea; and that is what we did. We had prayers, and remembered Uncle John with love and with joy, and it felt very appropriate that this had happened for him - and for us - in Brisbane.
We felt at peace, and very comforted by the beautiful words spoken about him and for him; and the Officer's final words to us as we left were, "Don't forget - your Uncle John has been promoted to Glory!"
What a wonderful thought to send us forth that day!
