A Small Drawer, but With Huge Implications

Not too long ago, I was asked to speak at the memorial service for a fine Christian lady. During the service, something caught my attention.

At one point during the service, I was seated in a location where I had a very clear view of a very small drawer. Because of the location of the chair in which I was seated, I was able to, in effect, look over the shoulder of the body of the lady and see the edge of the bottom half of the lid of the casket. 

As I did that, I saw something I’ve seen a few times before. For some reason, though, this time it caught my attention and caused me to do some thinking. From the angle I had, it was very clear that the casket had been designed with a very small drawer in that portion of the casket. 

I thought I knew the purpose for the drawer, but I decided to go online to make sure I was correct in my thinking. As it turns out, I was correct. I found the following information on iMortuary.com:

Today’s funeral caskets have the option to come equipped with specialty drawers that allow you to incorporate a uniquely personal touch. Located on the lid or side panels, these memorial drawers are similar to ones you might find in a jewelry chest—small, elegant, and perfect for holding mementos that signify a lifetime of happiness.

The same website also provides the following information and suggestions:

Common items placed in the drawers include:

• Wedding rings
• Copies of photographs
• Favorite books
• Anything associated with a hobby or sport
• Military or fraternal organization mementos
• Letters to the deceased

Other options might include a packet of flower seeds for a gardener, a driving glove for an avid car lover, or some tees and a golf ball for a golfer.

If you are familiar with my often weird sense of humor, it will probably come as no surprise for you to learn that I smiled a little when I read the following on that same website:

“If you do choose to bury the deceased with some personal items, it’s important to remember that these are items you will not get back.”

On a much more serious note, I truly believe that there are some huge implications which may, in some ways, be symbolized by a drawer in a casket. Among those implications are the following:

• Love does not stop when a heart stops beating.  Love lives beyond the grave. In fact, according to my understanding of 1 Cor. 13, love is greater than both faith and hope because, unlike them, it lasts throughout eternity. The love that God has for His people and the love they have for Him will never end. 
• Sometimes, we wait too late to express how we really feel.  I wonder how many notes have been placed in caskets or how many words have been said as a person looks into a casket that would have done a lot more good if that had happened while the person was still alive. 
• Something does not have to be huge to be great.  There was no huge storage container sitting next to that casket. There was only a small drawer in the casket itself. “Daily doses” of seemingly small acts of kindness probably do more to demonstrate love for spouses, parents, etc. than huge, elaborate gifts and/or celebrations.
• We have an innate belief in life beyond the grave.  I have known many (too many) people who live as though this life is all there is to their existence. However, when I have been able to have really serious conversations with them, I find that they really do not believe that. They may scoff at the idea of any concept of judgment, heaven, and/or hell, but they honestly cannot totally dismiss the idea that they will exist somewhere after this life is over. 

Your list of implications may be much, much longer than mine. These are just few that come fairly quickly to my mind.

What you may have expected to see in that short list of implications was something about the futility of trying to take anything with us beyond the grave. That was not an accidental omission on my part. 

There is, in fact, something that we can “take with us” as we depart this life and enter the next life. What I have in mind is not anything that can be provided by anybody else; regardless of how much they love me, care for me, and want to help. It is entirely up to me. 

And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them (Rev. 14:13, KJV, emphasis added).

To Receive Every Post from A Legacy of Faith through Email for Free, Click Here

AUTHOR: Jim Faughn