How Do We Go On funeral reading
Here’s the next in my series of funeral readings you might like to consider for your loved one’s funeral or memorial ceremony. Some are sad, some are uplifting, some are comforting; there’s something for everyone here.
Readings are absolutely not a compulsory part of a funeral or memorial ceremony. Sometimes family members or friends desperately want to speak at their loved one’s funeral, but they haven’t got the wherewithal to write something themselves. Readings are a perfect stand-in: your emotions and feelings right there on the page ready for you to contribute.
Remember readings can be adapted – if your favourite reading is written for him, you can change it to her! If it’s written for Mum, you can change it to Dad or Grandma or Grandpa, whatever fits for you. Take out lines that don’t fit your circumstances. I just make sure to introduce such a reading as an adaptation.
How Do We Go On, by John Mark Green
How do we go on
After the unthinkable happens?
How can we carry the burden of knowing
The world can be cruel and dangerous,
The future so unpredictable?
How do we grieve with empty arms
And a head filled with echoing memories?
We are stronger than we know,
And this is how we show it:
Holding each other,
Giving comfort in the midst of pain.
Loving more fiercely,
Through our actions and the things we say.
Making the world just a little bit better, every single day.
Never taking life for granted,
Knowing that it can be snatched away.
This world may bring deep darkness,
But we are the bearers of light.
We’ll join our flames together,
And shine in the blackest of nights