My Favorite Mortician
11/15/24I’ve only met one mortician in my life. Fortunately, it wasn’t about business.
It was through my good friend, Steve Webster, who brought Bruce Goddard, a 4th-generation funeral home operator, to speak at our men’s Bible study group 15 years ago. At the time, Bruce had recently published a book called View from a Hearse - Lighten Up.
Meeting Bruce challenged every stereotype I had about morticians. I expected someone somber and heavy, maybe someone like Lurch from Addam’s Family. But Bruce was not like that at all. He was funny, engaging, and light-hearted—a guy who literally works with death every day yet seemed to have more joy in life than most. It was a refreshing surprise. He had my attention.
Bruce spoke about the thousands of people he’d embalmed over his career. And he shared something that has stuck with me ever since. Many of the people he prepared for burial were people who’d been “waiting.” They were waiting to take that family vacation, waiting to mend a relationship, waiting to chase a dream. They were busy doing important work, but stuck in the belief that their job was so essential that the world would crumble without them there to do it. But in every case, when they were gone, someone else quickly filled their seat at work—whether they were a sales rep, a project manager, a teacher, accountant, a CEO, or whatever the job was. For every one of those titles, there’s always someone in line to take over.
But there are seats that often remain empty. No one can step in to replace them as “dad” or “wife” or “friend.” Those roles, left vacant, leave a unique kind of void.
It’s not about quitting our jobs; it’s about keeping them in perspective. As someone who decided to make a significant career change when I was approaching 50, I know that work matters—it’s part of how we contribute and add value to our families, our communities, and our society. Work can and should be meaningful, a reflection of our best efforts and gifts, and an important part of our purpose.
But it’s not our only purpose. In one of the oldest stories on record, God put Adam in the garden to work it and take care of it before He gave him a family. There is no doubt we were designed to work, and to work hard. But we were designed for so much more.
I am so grateful for Bruce’s message and that it has stuck with me for so long. I’m still a work in progress, but I am learning to be intentional with the time I’ve been given.
With this in mind, I encourage you to join me in answering these questions: What have I been putting off? Why have I been putting it off? What am I going to do about it now?
While my next meeting with a mortician is not on the books yet, I do know it’s coming. Whenever that meeting is, I plan to be coming in hot on 2 wheels!
