Visit to Yorkshire ‘God’s Own Country’
Sadness and Joy

Being a ‘Yorkshire Lass’ I guess I will always think of Yorkshire as home.
My visit was both sad and joyful, sad at the passing of my brother in law Reg, and joyful with memories of my wedding in the same church, and the same week as the funeral some 48 years earlier.

All Saints, Otley is a beautiful church and when I am in Otley I try to visit.

 

 

The funeral was a beautiful service, led by Revd. Graham Buttanshaw, sad of course at the loss of a loved one, but also joyful at wonderful memories of a long life. Rebecca, Reg’s granddaughter, read ‘God’s Garden’ by Wendy Bradley, and Tom, his grandson, read from John’s gospel. My eldest son and eldest grandchild played ‘Abide with Me’ on the flute, for me this was both joyous and sad, joyous because it’s not often I get to hear them play, and sad at the memory of the last time I heard Mark play that tune at another family funeral, also in the same church.
As I looked around the church I couldn’t help but see John, my late husband, and I walking down the aisle, my niece, was then my 4 year old bridesmaid, really quite bored with it all, and now here she was the grieving daughter and mother of two.
All this makes me thankful for the close family ties we have, we were there for each other we held hands, we cried, we laughed, we grieved, and will continue to grieve together.

I consider myself……TRULY BLESSED……..

 

Kath Leadbeater