A young minister was asked by a funeral director in Lawton to hold a graveside service for a homeless man, with no family or friends, who had died while traveling through south-central Oklahoma. The funeral was to be held at a cemetery way back in the country, and this man would be the first to be laid to rest there.
As the young minister was not familiar with the area, he became lost; and being a shy man, he did not stop for directions. He finally arrived an hour late. The young minister saw the crew eating lunch, but the hearse was nowhere in sight. He apologized to the workers for his tardiness, and stepped to the side of the open grave, where he saw the vault lid already in place. The young minister assured the workers he would not hold them long, but he believed that it was still the proper thing to do.
The workers gathered around, still eating their lunch. The young minister poured out his heart and soul. As he preached, the workers began to say "Amen," "Praise the Lord," and "Glory," in affirmation. The young minister preached and preached, like he'd never preached before. He then closed the lengthy service with a prayer and walked to his car. The young minister felt that he had done his duty for the homeless man and thought that the crew would leave with a renewed sense of purpose and dedication, in spite of his tardiness.
As the young minister was opening the door and taking off his coat, he overheard one of the workers saying to another, "I ain't never seen anythin' like this before . . . and I've been putting in septic tanks for twenty years."
