Once, when I was little, I was in the car with my Pawpaw Aderholt and we pulled over for a funeral procession. He looked over at me and said, “Pay your respects, Wee Wee (that’s what he called me). That was a good man they’re laying to rest.” “Did you know him,” I asked. He shook his head and said, “Nope. Don’t need to know. Look how many showed up for the funeral. With that many people, he had to have been a good man.”
I guess my pawpaw had a point. When a good person is laid to rest, the funeral is the final act of kindness and appreciation that we can show him. We often think about those being buried; but rarely do we think about those working behind the scenes of a paying the final respects.
I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Dr. Smith of Smith Funeral Home for quite some years now and often wondered why someone would choose to own a funeral home. What I found out was that, more often than not, it isn’t the person that makes that choice. It is God’s will. It takes a special soul to bury those we loved and lost. They have to be stronger than we are at the time, gentle enough to tend to our pain, and respectful of every variation of human emotion that comes along with the death of a loved one. Dr. Smith is all of these things and then some.
Upon first sight, you will immediately be intimidated because he is a giant! But as soon as Dr. Smith speaks the first word, in his low gentle tone, you are comforted and almost feel safe and protected around him. His love for God, love for others, and lifetime of wisdom cannot be hidden away; and he chooses to lead with love each day. He will pray with you or for you at the drop of a hat. He has the patience of a Saint; and exudes a gentleness that can only be compared to a new mother with her baby.
I knew that Dr. Smith owned the funeral home in Belzoni. But what surprised me and inspired me was the story of faith that brought him to be the owner. My friends and I are 45; and we were just discussing how disappointed we are in ourselves sometimes, because we really felt that we would have our careers lined out by this age. I guess it’s time we all realize that we are not running by our watches. Everything happens in God’s time; and he will put us where we need to be when he gets ready. It wasn’t until at the age of 47, with 5 kids and a wife in tow, that God directed Dr. Smith on the path he was meant to take!
Dr. Smith started working as an laborer for Johnson Funeral Home in 1965. At first, the thought of working with the dead scared him to death (pun intended). But, he needed the money for his family and decided to take the job. There he worked, year after year, decade after decade, learning every aspect of the funeral home business. As time passed on, the funeral home changed hands and changed names. Dr. Smith kept working and learning the business, attending to more and more of the needs of the community.
Finally, the opportunity came to buy the business himself. This was a great opportunity for him and his family. There was just one problem. He would need a college degree and money! He had neither. What he did have was a devoted wife, a father that believed in him, and a friend in Paul Townsend (the local banker). And FAITH!! If nothing more, he had faith that God would open the doors for him.
So, there he was at the ripe old age of 47, embarking on a new career and education. He had enough faith to put his home, his father’s land and the funeral home up as collateral. “I fasted and prayed and kept my faith through it all and just made it.” And made it, he did. He’s been in the funeral home business for over 50 years, and been the successful owner for over 35 years, retiring this year; and passing the business on down to family.
As I said, it takes a special soul to hold the responsibility and honor to serve our loved ones one last time. Dr. Johnny Smith has that special soul; and Belzoni has been blessed to have him.
Let his story be a lesson to us all. We may not be in life where we think we should; but we are where God needs us to be. In HIS time, not ours, we will discover our true purpose in life.
Apparently Dr. Smith is not only an expert in the mortuary business; he’s also an expert in cooking! Below is his special turkey recipe that he serves for his beloved family gatherings:
Wash turkey let it dry, need onions garlic bell pepper celery cut up fine to put on the inside and outside of turkey, granulated garlic and lemon pepper mixed in separate bowl, buy meat injection a bottle and a half inject thighs breast back and legs, put cut up veggies inside out in pan lined with foil rub seasoning and rest of cut up veggies on turkey, wrap it up good in the foil back at 350 for 3 1/2 hours!
Lessons Learned From The Rainbow 