Today I had the privilege of attending a  very special funeral service. The mother of my close covenant friend Noralv Askeland had gone to be with the Lord and we were gathered to bring her body to rest in the grave. There are always lots of emotions involved when your mother leaves this world, even when you know that she has gone to a better place to be with the Lord.

From beginning to end this funeral service was filled with thankfulness and hope. Noralv gave a wonderful speech in which he honoured his mother by describing how she had been a loving and caring mother, faithful spouse, a zealous intercessor, an encourager, counselor, and helper to many people. A lot of people later gave testimonies of how she had been a blessing to them in many practical ways. Her life had been a great blessing and therefore the funeral service was filled with thanksgiving and praise to God for everything he had done through the mother of my friend.