“Let’s not lose sight of what’s important,” NBA coach Monty Williams said recently at the funeral for his wife. “God is important. What Christ did on the cross is important.”
Williams’ wife was killed in a car accident when another driver crossed the center line and hit her car head-on. They had five children. A Christian funeral was held in Oklahoma, and Williams decided to address the crowd with a message of faith and hope.
“This is hard for my family, but this will work out,” Williams told the crowd at the funeral. “And my wife would punch me if I were to sit up here and whine about what’s going on.
“That doesn’t take away the pain. But it will work out, because God causes all things to work out.”
He was very explicit about his faith in Jesus: “What we need is the Lord. And that’s what my wife tried to exhibit every single day.”
He also called for prayers for the family of the driver: “Let us not forget there were two people in this situation, and that family needs prayer as well.”
And he said he forgives the person who killed his wife: “We have no ill will toward that family.”
“We cannot serve the Lord if we don’t have a heart of forgiveness. That family didn’t wake up wanting to hurt my wife. […] We… should be praying for that family, because they grieve as well.”
“God will work this out. My wife is in heaven. God loves us. God is love.”
Here’s the video (Williams’ speech starts at 0:49):
[See also: Evangelical Pastor Rick Warren Prays Divine Mercy Chaplet, Watches EWTN]
[See also: “I Even Believe in the Devil”: The Supernatural Catholic Faith of Justice Scalia]