Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Ewwwwwwww........gross!!!!!!!
I decided to clean out my refrigerator the other day. I don't mean going through and throwing out food that's been in there a while and needs to go. I mean taking everything out and wiping down the shelves and drawers and walls, etc.... I could not BELIEVE how dirty it was!!!! Note to self...."decide" to do that more often!!!!!
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
A Life Well-Lived
I had the privilege of attending the most beautiful funeral service today. I know that sounds strange to call it a privilege, but it really was. We honored the life and legacy of Jay W. Sills, or as I know him, "Papa Jay"...faithful husband, dedicated father, adoring grandfather, loyal friend, Man of God. What an amazing job he and his precious wife, Nana Ruth, did of raising their five children to love the Lord and live life to the fullest. And it doesn't stop there....he also has 13 granddaughters and 3 grandsons who are all following in that path as well. What a testimony of how the choices we make in our life every day can truly impact generations to come.
As I sat and listened to his children and grandchildren and friends talk about how passionately he lived his life, I couldn't help but think about my own. I am afraid I have some adjustments to make, because I want to be the kind of person who will be remembered like that! Someone whom people can depend on, someone who admits when she makes a mistake, someone who is fun to be around and puts a positive spin on any situation, someone who is committed to the Lord and to her family above all else, who truly loves God and lives a life that shows that love to others every day! Thank the Lord for Philippians 1:6..."being confident of this, that he who began a good work in (me) will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." I am, most certainly, a work in progress....I can only hope that I am afforded 75 years or better to get my act in gear.
One thing you have to understand is that the Sills are one of those rare families where every person is just such a JOY to be around, and they all make you feel like you are a special part of their family, even if you really aren't. My connection with them began almost 20 years ago when I was in junior high school and their oldest son, Gary, was my youth pastor at the church where I grew up. During those years, I also met some of the sisters, whom I looked up to right from the start. In high school, I ended up working some rodeos and crawfish festivals selling funnel cakes with the family business. What a fun experience! But my "adoption" into their family was really solidified years later when as a college student, I began babysitting their oldest daughter Cheryl's five children on a regular basis.
Anyone who has known me for longer than a week knows how very special Cheryl and her kiddos are to me. I spent countless hours getting "Mommy practice" with Candice, Crysta, Caitlin, Caylee, and Cooper...all the while learning priceless lessons from Cheryl, who makes one heck of an example to follow...a blessing for which I am thankful beyond words. I have literally watched them all grow up and I could not be more proud of each and every one of them. So of course, my heart breaks for them (and their cousins) because I know the sadness of losing your grandpa...and for Cheryl and Gary and Cindy and Callie and Sallie too, although I can't even imagine the sadness of losing your dad. And for Nana Ruth especially, because I don't even want to think about the sadness of losing your husband of 54 years.
BUT the service today, while it was deeply moving, was not at all somber the way that a typical funeral would be. It wasn't SAD...it was more of a celebration of a life well-lived...and the focus was on our eternal home in Heaven where Papa Jay is now, face to face with our Lord Jesus, praising Him with the angels and smiling down upon the friends and family he left behind. The officiating pastor said something that really struck a cord with me....that we mourn not for him, but for ourselves because we miss him. For if we think about where he is now, and how he no longer has to suffer with diabetes, heart disease, cancer, near blindness, and all the pain that came along with those things, but instead he gets to bask in Heaven's glory all the time....we truly cannot be sad but must rejoice for his new found comfort and peace!!
So when I say it was a privilege to have gone to the funeral today, I mean that from the bottom of my heart. It is a privilege to be an "honorary" part of such a special family. It was an honor to celebrate Papa Jay today, it was an honor to have known such a wonderful man, and it will be an honor to remember him fondly always.
As I sat and listened to his children and grandchildren and friends talk about how passionately he lived his life, I couldn't help but think about my own. I am afraid I have some adjustments to make, because I want to be the kind of person who will be remembered like that! Someone whom people can depend on, someone who admits when she makes a mistake, someone who is fun to be around and puts a positive spin on any situation, someone who is committed to the Lord and to her family above all else, who truly loves God and lives a life that shows that love to others every day! Thank the Lord for Philippians 1:6..."being confident of this, that he who began a good work in (me) will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." I am, most certainly, a work in progress....I can only hope that I am afforded 75 years or better to get my act in gear.
One thing you have to understand is that the Sills are one of those rare families where every person is just such a JOY to be around, and they all make you feel like you are a special part of their family, even if you really aren't. My connection with them began almost 20 years ago when I was in junior high school and their oldest son, Gary, was my youth pastor at the church where I grew up. During those years, I also met some of the sisters, whom I looked up to right from the start. In high school, I ended up working some rodeos and crawfish festivals selling funnel cakes with the family business. What a fun experience! But my "adoption" into their family was really solidified years later when as a college student, I began babysitting their oldest daughter Cheryl's five children on a regular basis.
Anyone who has known me for longer than a week knows how very special Cheryl and her kiddos are to me. I spent countless hours getting "Mommy practice" with Candice, Crysta, Caitlin, Caylee, and Cooper...all the while learning priceless lessons from Cheryl, who makes one heck of an example to follow...a blessing for which I am thankful beyond words. I have literally watched them all grow up and I could not be more proud of each and every one of them. So of course, my heart breaks for them (and their cousins) because I know the sadness of losing your grandpa...and for Cheryl and Gary and Cindy and Callie and Sallie too, although I can't even imagine the sadness of losing your dad. And for Nana Ruth especially, because I don't even want to think about the sadness of losing your husband of 54 years.
BUT the service today, while it was deeply moving, was not at all somber the way that a typical funeral would be. It wasn't SAD...it was more of a celebration of a life well-lived...and the focus was on our eternal home in Heaven where Papa Jay is now, face to face with our Lord Jesus, praising Him with the angels and smiling down upon the friends and family he left behind. The officiating pastor said something that really struck a cord with me....that we mourn not for him, but for ourselves because we miss him. For if we think about where he is now, and how he no longer has to suffer with diabetes, heart disease, cancer, near blindness, and all the pain that came along with those things, but instead he gets to bask in Heaven's glory all the time....we truly cannot be sad but must rejoice for his new found comfort and peace!!
So when I say it was a privilege to have gone to the funeral today, I mean that from the bottom of my heart. It is a privilege to be an "honorary" part of such a special family. It was an honor to celebrate Papa Jay today, it was an honor to have known such a wonderful man, and it will be an honor to remember him fondly always.
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