I received a forward of this email.
I was so very moved that the family was blessed. And we got to be a very small part of this.
I just had to share.
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Dear church,
My family and I would like to express our deepest gratitude for your outpouring of compassion during this past week. We have been so blessed by all the meals and cards that a simple "thank you" doesn't do it justice. The memorial service yesterday was a powerful tribute to our Lord and the mercies He has extended to Jacob and our family, and thank you again to all of you who attended.
It was the funeral procession, however, that was like nothing ever seen before. If you witnessed it, you know what I am talking about. If you missed it, I am so sorry, because you may never see anything like it again, but allow me to describe it to you from our perspective. As we left the church for the grave site, we had well over a hundred members of the Patriot Guard on their motorcycles leading the way, their function being to surround the church and the gravesite to protect the family from any hecklers or anti-war protesters. I almost would've felt sorry for anyone trying to get past these former soldiers to disrupt the services--almost. As we left the church escorted by these guardians, in the limo directly behind the hearse, we saw the first few groups of people honoring us as we passed, including members of this church. Our first thought was, "how sweet of these scattered few to honor Jacob this way." There were small groups of people like this all the way down Goat Creek Rd to Junction Hwy, and when we turned toward town, the number of people increased slightly, especially by Walmart, where we were amazed that a few people had even set up camp in the middle of the road, waving their flags. When we turned onto Harper Rd, there were even more people lined up on the corner by Moore's, and we were truly touched that "all of these people" had turned out to pay their respects. As we traveled toward Holdsworth Dr, the numbers went back down to a few scattered groups again, but the support was still very touching. As we turned onto Holdsworth Dr, we thought, "how amazing that these folks would do this for Jacob and our family," but pretty much thought it was over.
About halfway down Holdsworth Dr, we were stunned to see that the K-ville Fire Dept.'s ladder truck had extended its ladder over the road, with a huge American flag hanging down from it, and again we were deeply moved at the gesture, but again we thought that that would probably be the end. When we turned onto Sidney Baker, we were shocked and stunned beyond words--thousands of people, it appeared, were lining the sidewalks and streets on both sides of the road, waving flags of every size, many of them crying, but all of them showing the utmost respect and honor toward Jacob for his sacrifice and service. To say that we were absolutely blown away by this would be the understatement of the year. The vast majority of these people had never met Jacob before, but they were all so touched by his story that they endured the blistering heat in order to honor him as his body passed by. I have never been so proud of this city and its people, and I know that many of you were in the throngs that lined the street as well. I can't tell you how much that meant to me and my family, and we will never forget it. What should have been a five-minute drive turned into the most amazing hour-long drive I have ever taken, and thank you all so much for being a part of it. I know there will be difficult days down the road for us, as we continue to adjust to the loss of Jacob, but we have all been permanently touched by this support.
Eagerly awaiting our Lord's return,
Jonathan
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