Michael K

I Can’t Wait!

See Video of this funeral
Gospel starts at 14:06
Homily starts at 16:08

Last night I felt a little bit of what Jacob felt in the Bible in the Old Testament because me and the Holy Spirit – we were rasslin’ last night. I had no idea what was going to be said, what the message would be today. But every time I thought of something, it would change. Really and truly, I mean, look at the world. The world changed from a bunch of rocks spinning in space and came together. And its what we live on today. Look at the mountains. They’re constantly changing even though they appear to be the same. So, everything is changing.

And I started thinking about Mike. What would it have been like to be Mike? Born in the…Northeast – that area that none of us will never go. But people are born there, people live there. So I thought about when he was born.
 “I can’t wait to get to first grade.”
And  “I can’t wait until Christmas.”
“I can’t wait for school to get out.”
“Can’t wait for vacation.”
“Can’t wait to get old enough to go to Middle School so we start changing teachers.” Things like that.

“I can’t wait to get into High School.”
“I can’t wait to get my driver’s license.”
“I can’t wait to meet my first girlfriend, go on my first date.” 
“I can’t wait to graduate.”
“I can’t wait to serve my country.”
“I can’t wait to meet the woman that I’m going to share the rest of my life with.”
And “I can’t wait to get married.”
“I can’t wait to have children!”
Even better, “How about we have 3 princesses.”

And “I can’t wait until they get interested in some of the same things that I’m interested in. I love sports. Maybe they’ll love sports. I love college sports.”
“So, don’t get stuck in the Northeast. Get to God’s Country as quick as possible.”
“And not just that but send my girls to the greatest university that God ever created. He even put the burnt orange in the sunset.”

Hey, y’all – don’t tell anyone here [indicating the Presider] – he’s an Aggie so he’s probably not excited about this.

It was important because he loved college sports and he loved his Longhorns. He loved burnt orange. I can definitely relate to that. I got to grow up in that my whole life.

But then, “ I can’t wait for my daughters to never, ever date. But if they do, and some guy comes to pick her up, I’m going to be sitting on the front porch, Corey, with my shotgun. And I’m going to tell him I’m not afraid to go back to prison. But if he sticks with it, if he is truly worthy of my princess, then I can’t wait to be a grandparent. I can’t wait to have grandsons and granddaughters that can share all that life is. I can do that by standing beside the woman that I have loved, have and I have taken care of, with my daughters, who I took responsibility and took good care of, even though I have handed off a little of that to a son that I never had, but now do.

“I cannot wait, I cannot wait to watch them grow. And I can’t wait to have somebody find an interest in golfing. Somebody who would visit the hallowed halls of Augusta – that absolutely wonderful place here in the United States in Augusta, Georgia where its hallowed ground. But not just to have somebody interested but to visit.”

“I cannot wait to watch my daughters become young women, and to watch my grandchildren grow. And to watch the love between my daughters and my sons.”

“I can’t wait to retire, so I could start spending time with my wife traveling.”

Not every change is exciting. And so, that’s what we run into here today. There’s a change in all of your lives – a change that has taken someone so important. You guys have never known a day in your life that he wasn’t in it. You’ve never known love that Mike wasn’t there. And I know that he was such a beautiful, beautiful spiritual man. How do I know that? Because of the readings that you chose for today. If somebody was rough, pushed you around, and wasn’t around, and didn’t show you great love, you’re not going to pick the Beatitudes. It is all about love. And the first reading that we heard from Wisdom – it talks about how in the view of the foolish they appear to be dead. Because we know, because of what He [pointing to the Crucifix] did, that he’s not dead. He’s just gone ahead. And guess what. He’s preparing for you.

The most important thing for you guys to take away from here today is the fact that he loved you so much, he was so supportive, and he would not want you to be sad for long. Yes, we have to grieve. But don’t let that become who you are. Don’t grieve for yourself to the point where you cannot live your life because he said, “I want you to live life to the fullest.” He didn’t say it to me. He said it to you guys. Here he says, “I want you to live your life to the fullest.” So, all of you, he’s gone ahead. He’s not gone. Your story is continuing his story. Make his story even more special. Allow yourselves to grieve but allow yourselves to model your father. Be supportive of your mother, your grandmother. You guys have got a big job ahead of you. You’re always going to be the ones [indicating the grandsons] going to be there for her [indicating the widow] when she struggles. You have to be there. You have to be Mike. You just have to love her [indicating the granddaughter]. You [indicating Corey] have to continue to take care of her [indicating one of the daughters]. And you know what? By extension you need to take care of these 3 also.

You guys were blessed in this life to have him. Understand that moving forward he’s still going to be there. So, when you have your little celebrations and you come together for birthdays, for graduations, whatever it happens to be, take a chair, and empty chair, and a plate and a place setting and leave it there for Mike, because he will be there with you guys to celebrate.

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