My Letter.

Many have asked for the letter to my mom, read the day of her burial... It is posted as below.

[Intro to funeral service reading]:
There are so many words to give my mom, but at this time I give you the words I wrote to her in a letter for her 50th birthday (March 27,2009). I went to three different card stores to find the perfect card and none of them were good enough for my mom, so I wrote my own. I wanted her to know how much she meant to me then, which is perfect because it is everything I would want her to know now, too. The letter is dated March 22, 2009. Here is a portion of that letter…

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Often, people come to me referencing you, not because they have met you, but because of the stories I have told about you, the pride I hold in my eyes when I think of you, and the gift I know I am giving when I share the way you live.

I share it often. The way you work and talk and pray with Aunt Mil, the way you work with care to make a house a home, the way you tend flowers and give them away to bring beauty to people’s lives. The way you send mail and packages, and did for me for five years straight. The way you put faith and family first. The way you and dad display your relationship.

I share these stories with people.

At wedding showers, I am often asked to give a word of advice… and I steal yours and dads: Date your spouse. The legacy you both have given your children is a gift we all hold. I share your stories of Mom’s Mystery Trips, serving at the KCC Café, lighting candles at the dinner table, sharing Bible Studies and coffee dates, making home a place of peace rather than argument, trips you planned and brought us joy through, and how you held your Bible to your chest when you heard of your parents.

Even just this week I was talking to a friend about marriage and suggested she talk with you, because you and dad have been so faithful and committed. Funny thing is, she already knew. She didn’t need my words, because she already saw both you & dad live your love so strongly that she had called you herself.

I leave you with one more story. This week you turn fifty. And this week, your life will live as a testimony in one more home.

On my women’s retreat, the speaker talked about women being the presence of the Holy Spirit in their homes. Afterward, we gathered in small groups… I paused and took a breath and said, “I actually have a story to share to those of you who are moms. Now, I know my parents aren’t perfect, but the legacy my mom left in our home still sticks with me today and I share it with you as a model... My mom was a sense of peace in our home all growing up, and now as a adult, I still remember specific things she did. When I would wake up every morning, she would be praying. You just knew it was mom’s prayer time, no thought given to it. It wasn’t until I grew up that I realized my mom was unique in this. She woke with my dad and then spent her time in prayer. Then we would bundle for school and no matter how late we were running, she would gather us in the back room and we would pray. We started our day that way, every day. The school day would go on and when we returned home, she would be there. She would set aside her ironing, put the dinner pot aside, tell the caller she would call back later, and she would stop. She would bend over the island and ask about our day, take the time to be with us. When dad got home, it was much the same. They would kiss each other and shut the door for five to ten minutes, just being with one another and being together. Sometimes this trait followed dinner too. Even now, though we are all grown, she is still there. She calls, we call, we gather… My mom was the presence of the Holy Spirit in my home.” At that retreat, women came up to me and said your story touched them so, they wanted to be that sense of peace for their family…

So mom, this week, as you turn fifty, know that you are a powerful woman. You live a legacy to those you hold dear, to those you meet, and those you don’t even know. Your one life has encouraged and inspired many. You are a place of peace, a woman of shelter. You are a cup of tea for a friend on a difficult afternoon, a partner in the jeep on a Sunday afternoon drive, a candy-holding story teller at Monday night café, a cookie-baking Grandma on a Tuesday morning. You are a friend, a love, a light, a legacy.

Thank you for being you. You are a blessing.

Love you always,
Christina Jill