Friends for Life

Throughout my life I have been blessed with great friends. This has been a tremendous blessing in my life as I have often felt they are real life angels--people who help me when I need it and always leave me feeling loved and blessed. Two of my closest friends are Betsy and Kelly. We have been through it all together with more sure to come. How often I have thanked my Heavenly Father for sending these women into my life. Our friendship is drama free and full of love and charity. This friendship serves as a model for how I want to feel about everyone that crosses my path.

One of the hardest things we've been through is the death of James, Betsy's husband. James died on October 8, 2012 and a part of each of us died on that day. We have laughed, cried, fasted and prayed with James. There was no one like him. He was unique in every way and we loved him and miss him every day. The day he died Kelly and I immediately jumped in the car and drove to be by Betsy's side. We would do anything for each other. Betsy thinks she is always the recipient of kindness but I would argue that Betsy has figuratively jumped in the car and come to our sides on many occasions, although in not so dramatic a fashion. This weekend Kelly and I jumped in the car again, this time with 3 of my kids and 3 of hers and once again went to be by Betsy's side. 

James was a collector of all things--each of them reflecting his personality. As a result it is a difficult process to sort through his things--each represents a memory for Betsy that must be relived and processed. He was also a prolific writer and kept copies of important emails and other documents, all of which must be read and then dealt with. This has been a lengthy and ongoing process. Betsy put out a call for help and Kelly and I responded. We had hoped we could clean out his closet and organize his belongings. We never dreamed we would get the closet clean and the garage cleaned out too. 

We arrived on Friday night about 10:00 pm and went to work on the closet. We worked for 2 hours and fell into bed exhausted. As soon as we woke up on Saturday we were back at it. We started with a prayer and I truly felt like we were guided to go through James' belongings. We worked at record speed and Betsy was decisive and thoughtful. by 10:30 Saturday night we were making our final trip to the DI truck. We had carefully put away and preserved the things that were most important to James and to Betsy. What an amazing legacy James left. I learned so much through this process, especially the importance of putting things in writing. The most tender things we found were things James had written and two letters that Tony had written James that James had saved. 

But more than anything I felt profound gratitude--so thankful for the people that are in my life that inspire and strengthen me. Our three families have had some profound and amazing experiences together but this weekend will top the list.