The Great Game of Clue

This winter was a season of loss for a lot of people close to me. Perhaps it’s just that I’m getting older, but I’ve been making more use of my “funeral suit” than I can remember in previous years. Whether it’s family of colleagues or friends or longtime supporters, I have had more time to reflect on life and legacy than I’d necessarily choose, though each time I end up being grateful for the opportunity.

As I sat listening to some beautiful words of remembrance from a son for his mother, it brought me back to a funeral this past December. My family had never met Helene though we had prayed for her by name daily for a long time. She was the sister of a close friend. A young mother of three, Helene was a beloved teacher in her local community who battled cancer bravely for many years before passing. Our family waited gratefully for two hours in the cold for the visitation. The funeral Mass, likewise was an overflow crowd followed by a motorcade that required multiple police escorts. My wife told me that she heard the police referring to it as “a Clue.” When she inquired into the meaning of this name, the police explained that long motorcades that require multiple departments to support, especially for “regular” people, must mean that person had a clue on how to live their life.

I don’t think you can attend a funeral or a visitation without pausing to think for at least a moment about your own life. As I drove home from the latest celebration of life, I thought about the “clues” I was leaving in my own journey. How intentional am I in modelling the right clues, whether as a husband, father, leader, or most importantly, a disciple? While there may be many days where I feel like I just need to get through, how often do I stop and think about what type of teacher I am to others? Though I never had the privilege to know her, it was clear that Helene’s classroom was much larger than the public school where she was employed.

The truth of what we believe is that no matter how long the motorcade is for us here on earth, the heavenly motorcade that hopefully welcomes us will be more incredible than we can ever imagine…if we engage in the most important game of “Clue.” The greatest gift we can give to those who might accompany us to our final resting place on earth, are the faithful clues we leave along the way for how they might join us one day in Heaven.

Prayers for anyone you have lost, and prayers that we all discover the clues that allow us to be with the Lord and our loved ones again someday.