Joe's Funeral

Let us pray:

Life, what ever it’s length, is a reminder that all of us can be recalled at any time. Life is transitory. “Each man’s life is but a breath, wrote David in Psalms 39. Since we have no guarantee of how long God chooses to grant each of us life, we must maximize the opportunities God gives us. Count every day a blessing. Bless every day be counting.

For the first few days, we all ask the question: Why, God

Then that question dropped and then we began asking, Which way, God?

God never answered the first question, but he did answer the second one.

The first thing was a sense of gratitude for the years God gave us Joe

Then, I knew life had to go on.

Faith has taught me that as long as there was life, we had a responsibility to God and others.

All of us hurt on the journey of life, but it would be wrong to pull down the shades and shut the door.

Finally, we are sustained by the presence of God.

He was with us as we stumble down the lonely road of sorrow.

we will come through this dark night and felt the touch of his hand.”

First, we rebuild by asking the Lord for his help.“

In our anguishl cried to the LORD, and he answered by setting me free” (Ps

Second, we rebuild by understanding that grief is the price we pay for the ability to love.

“The joys of yesterday are more than enough for the sorrows of tomorrow.”

1995 My wife and I moved into Stow, one house from Bev and Joe. I don’t think there was a better set of neighbors anywhere in the world. Our kids grew up with Aaron. I thought I had a massed a pretty decent set up hand tools, until walking into Joe’s garage, and what a garage it is. Over the years I watched him make parts, repair engines, generally fix things which most people would have thrown away. He never turned down helping or offering a suggestion on fixing the problem.

How many of today’s auto racing stars got their start in a car the Joe either designed or actually built. Most of the names escape me now, but I seem to remember Jeff Gordon’s name coming up and a couple of Ken Schrader stories too.

The house on Berger ave was always full. Full of kids, grandkids, great grand kids, many a race car or two in the garage or one on jack stands in the driveway. I really do miss those days.

If blessings could be counted or quantified, Bev and Joe’s total would be huge. 4 Kids, 16 Grandkids, 19 Great grand kids, friends and families beyond number.

Often times society marks someone worth / value, by the amount of people who show up at their funeral. If it wasn’t for the current pandemic going on, I know that Redman’s would have been swamped for days on end.

Life is most fulfilling when it is filled with purposes. Purpose becomes the driving force of contentment. George Bernard Shaw expressed it this way: “I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work, the more I live … life is no brief candle to me. It is a sort of splendid torch, which I’ve got a hold of for a moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations

If you study anything long enough, you develop favorites. Scripture is no different:

One of my favorite, fitting for many different times is John 14:1 - 4. This scripture occurs after Jesus told His disciples that He would by leaving them. It contains one of God’s greatest promises to man.

The Holman Christian Standard Bible Chapter 14

14 “Your heart must not be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in Me. 2 In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if not, I would have told you. I am going away to prepare a place for you. 3 If I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come back and receive you to Myself, so that where I am you may be also. 4 You know the way to where I am going.”

Not only did God Himself say that each of us has a place within His Fathers House, He also said that when we are called home, He Himself will be the one that comes for us, receiving us into Himself, so we may be where He is. For me, that is one of the greatest statements made, full of comfort and grace, a future beyond our wildest dreams, each of us made whole by God so we can dwell with Him for ever.

Let us close in prayer.

A single closing thought. Please listen to the song soon to be played. It holds a special place in Joe’s heart. Look at us by Vince Gill

Graveside

Genesis 1:26–27 HCSB

Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness. They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, all the earth, and the creatures that crawl on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; He created him in the image of God; He created them male and female.

Genesis 2:18–19 HCSB

Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper as his complement.” So the Lord God formed out of the ground every wild animal and every bird of the sky, and brought each to the man to see what he would call it. And whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name.

Our mortal bodies are just that mortal, but our spirt or soul lives on after the human body is no more. Just as Jesus promised, He came and took Joe’s spirt home to be with Him forever. Just as God formed man and woman from the ground, it is fitting to return to the ground what was formed from the ground.

Let us close in prayer.