Tomorrow, I will conduct a Memorial service for Coy Bullard. As a pastor in a aging, "mainline," denomination, I've done hundreds of funerals- 49 in Rock Island alone- and I've felt good about most of them. In their own quiet and stoic way, the vast majority of our saints die with Resurrection Hope in their hearts. With few exceptions, they really do see their own funeral as a Service of Life, and their strong faith lifts the rest of us. I've long since decided that funerals are far more comforting that weddings. Our service tomorrow will be grace-filled too, but Coy Bullard was a man of extraordinary faith..
He asked me to stop by his hospital room and pray with him a couple of days ago because he was "ready to meet His Lord." He said that he couldn't wait to sit down and talk with Jesus "on a hill somewhere" and that he desperately wanted to be reunited with his wife and parents. He told me that he had accepted Christ on Easter Sunday 49 years ago and that he had lived for Christ ever since. He had never asked for much from God, he indicated, other than to bless his loved ones, but he was now asking God to take him home quickly. "Come, Lord Jesus." This was his prayer and it was a prayer that we shared together in our sacred moment. Tomorrow morning, as is my custom, we will thank God for allowing us to share life's stage with Coy and we will claim our faith that, through Christ, Coy lives. We will also do our best to capture the essence of Coy's life, but in a letter that Coy wrote years ago, he speaks for himself quite nicely.
He entitles his thoughts, "To be read at my Services," and what follows is some of what I will read tomorrow:
Since this will be the last Funeral Service I will ever attend, I thought it appropriate to make a few last comments, and then, forever hold my Peace. I was blessed by God in many ways, probably more than I deserved. I will tell you about some of them. I was blessed with loving, caring parents who made sacrifices for me. Life in the "Great Depression" was not easy, especially for Mom and Dad, but I never knew anything of it until much later. I was encouraged to read books, build things with my hands, and to have patience. Mom was a consummate seamstress, and dad was a mechanical genius, who could operate and repair anything, even though he did not have much formal education. I was fortunate to have inherited some abilities, and was clever in some ways, but I was not as gifted as my parents were. They endured the smell of airplane glue when I build model airplanes; they covered their ears when I learned to play guitar, and they put up with a 60 foot tower in our back yard when I built my amateur radio station.
Later, I was blessed by knowing a wonderful man who became my mentor at WOC, where I was given the chance to make mistakes and pursue great opportunities, and to get paid for doing what I enjoyed. And it gave me a chance to meet a very special lady. Meeting and working with Mary was the most important event in my live. As we became friends, it became apparent that we belonged together, and January 16, 1965 started the most important, and certainly the happiest, part of my life. Because of Mary I did things that I didn't think possible. She brought out the best in me. She was a lot smarter that I was, but she never said so. She overlooked my failings and shared her life with me without hesitation. We always had a strong Trust between us and that never wavered. I knew I loved her the first moment I saw her in that old WOC building, and I loved her more each day that we were together.
Finally, as my time on earth draws to an end, I have to say that I have no real regrets. I know that I said things and did things that I should not have. I take full responsibility for that, but I did the best I could. I do regret that there were things left unsaid and undone. I know that this probably disappointed friends, family, and Mary, and for that, I am truly sorry. I know that there were, and are, loved ones that I never told enough how much I loved them, and I know that I never told Mary often enough how much her love and friendship meant to me. I hope that now I will have that opportunity. With that, I say Goodbye, and may God bless you as richly as He has blessed me. My relationship with Jesus has grown every day and it is now the most important thing in the world to me. I am trusting in Him as you hear these words... Coy M. Bullard
Coy Bullard will forever stand out in my mind as an authentic Christian witness- a gentle and grateful man- who brightened our church with grace. He absolutely adored the Gaither's music, and perhaps he will be pleased when we conclude tomorrow's service with "Because He Lives."
Shalom,
pk
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