1 whole year has passed since you went home. I can't believe that much time has passed already, yet it seems like yesterday. Time heals all wounds, but it is still hard here without you. So often I think of you. Things I remember, things you taught me, things you showed me and probably didn't know you were, just by being you. We try to tell Kaylynn about you and show her pictures and she points and smiles. She jabbers to your picture. I tell her every time she does it, that she sure would be the apple of Grandma Slagenweit's eye. :)
There are times I just break down because I miss you so much. Especially right now for me. With the things going on with me and my family,with my Mom having Leukemia I feel like I really need you now more than ever. I know not only would you be there for me, but you would be there for us. To listen, to encourage, to share faith and just be my (our) rock. No one really knows how close I felt to you. I talked to you about many, many things. You were one of my closest friends. How many people can say that about their Mother in Laws?? David is a little different than I. He is silent about it, but I know he misses you more than I do I'm sure. We both dream of you quite a bit. I just had another one the other night again.
"Enjoy the little things,
for one day you'll look back,
and realize they were
the big things."
~Robert Brault
A few pics (in random order) to share memories of Mom. (a few of Billions)
Mother of the Year award!!! Mother/daughter banquet 2011.
****
Today we are celebrating the life
and honoring the memory of the woman we are blessed to call “mom”. In the 56
years that God gave her, she influenced all who knew her for good.
In those early years, Mom poured
her life into molding, training, and educating us how to live for God. She did
that primarily by example. The people we have become is largely a result of her
labor and prayers. She was committed to her marriage and to us which gave us a
sense of stability and belonging. Her tenderness and gentle spirit soothed many
a childhood heartache. When we were little, she took time to read to us before
nap-time, play hide and go seek, take care of splinters and listen to our
dreams. During our junior high years she tackled homeschooling long before it
was popular so that she could give us a solid education. As we grew older Mom
somehow knew how to balance giving us responsibility while being a constant
support, helping us navigate those fun but challenging “teen” years. Listening
when our dreams got smashed, laughing at the things that were funny and
sometimes the things that were not funny and being someone to lean on came naturally to her. It
was during that time we became aware that our mom had become our best
friend.
Mom will be remembered for many
things but perhaps the common thread that ties our memories together was her
genuine love for others that exhibited itself through an unquenchable servant
heart. Her giving heart and sacrificial service extended far beyond just our
home. The number of meals, pots of vegetable soup and pans of sticky buns that
left her kitchen bound for other destinations are innumerable. The hours she
spent on the phone listening to other’s hurts, the number of people who confided
in her and wanted her advice, and their secrets that she carried with her will
only be known in eternity. We shared our mother with many of our friends through
the years and she treated them like family.
It may be that the most important
lessons she taught us were since that day she had a stroke almost 15 years ago
when it became clear that the path God had chosen for her was going to involve
challenges that most people aren’t asked to face. Instead of asking “why”, or
becoming bitter, we watched her surrender to God’s will knowing that it would
test her inner strength beyond human endurance. As we watched her learn how to
use a fork and spoon again and comb her hair and accept the fact that there were
some things she would never be able to do again, we watched a strength emerge
that would carry her through many a setback and disappointment. We learned from
her what it’s like to cling to the truth about God’s character through very dark
days and watched her find grace from God that defies human explanation. As the
disease did its work of robbing her body of strength and vitality the inward
beauty and character she possessed shined all the brighter. And we thanked God
for allowing us the privilege of watching Him make a spiritual giant who would
quietly impact everyone she came in contact with. She became a spiritual hero
and our hearts echo the songwriter who said,
"We got the news this morning
that you had slipped away
And it seemed our hearts were
broken, it couldn’t end this way,
But then we saw through Spirit
eyes what an entrance you must have made
Running to the arms of Jesus,
finally home to stay.
You were a hero of the faith, a
soldier of the cross,
Singing out the grand old
story
Jesus saves the lost
And even though you’ve laid your
armor down and passed the torch
You are our hero of the faith,
strong soldier of the cross."
Thank
you God for giving us a hero.
Written
by Marianne, Jennifer, David, and Jonathan for her funeral.
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