As Jan and I were driving to Michigan recently, we received a phone call as we were near Ft. Wayne, Indiana. An elder in the church we were scheduled to visit (a church where we previously ministered) was calling to say that he had been summoned to the hospital because a dear sister in Christ was in the hospital and not expected to live. When we arrived at our destination a couple of hours later, we learned that our sister had deceased just a few minutes earlier. That evening, I went to the home to visit with her husband and some of the family.
The rest of the story. This sister had always said that she wanted me to preach her funeral. Her husband observed that had I not already had plans to come be in Michigan, that I would have been coming anyway. I was honored to be able to minister, the family was comforted, and we leave the explanation to God!