From a young minister’s first funeral on a cold, rain-soaked day to a lifetime of standing beside the grieving, this book traces fifty years of lessons learned at the threshold between life and eternity — where sorrow meets hope, and heaven feels near.

From Lessons Learned:

“It wasn’t my first trip to a graveyard, but this time was different. It was a bone chilling November day, and the pouring rain made it impossible to remain dry. My umbrella and raincoat were no match for the pelting rain. I stood at the head of an open grave, eyes fixed on the gaping hole in the ground. Just three months earlier I had celebrated my twentieth birthday by watching the moon landing. Just three weeks ago I had become pastor of the Mount Zion Baptist Church. I was jarred back to reality as one of the approaching pallbearers, one of the six men carrying the casket from the hearse to the grave, almost fell after slipping on the rain-soaked sod of the little country cemetery. Not fifteen minutes ago we were all dry while sitting in the small church building. It was not my first funeral to attend, but it was certainly the first time I was the designated pastor to speak at a funeral.“