She would have been 49 today!
Born April 19, 1962, my wife Kathy would have been 49 years old today and she would have been so upset to have me tell you that! Like most women, she did not wear her age proudly in terms of how old she was–nor did she like to tell how old she was! Yet, when I think about Kathy’s life, I’m convinced she lived her 48 years full of passion and with great energy.
Recently, I thought about this…God knew that Kathy would not live a long life and He also knew the desires that were in Kathy’s heart to be a preacher’s wife, to be a mother and to have grandchildren! How gracious God was to allow Kathy to have those things very early in comparison to most…
She was married at 16!
She had her first child at 19!
She was a grandmother by the age of 40!
Kathy lived life to the fullest and taught me to value “moments.” Our whole family can testify that Kathy knew how to squeeze joy out of almost any moment and she pushed our family to take no moment for granted. The most simple occasion could be a celebration if Kathy was in charge. Take my 50th birthday as an example, Kathy gathered friends from far and wide both in Louisiana (where she through a 50s party with the pastors and leaders of that state) and then in Chattanooga (where she brought together some of the friends we had made in the states we had served). She was like that…just relishing moments, making memories.
Once Kathy was babysitting Jeremy’s boys (Cooper and Branson at the time) and they wanted her to slide down the staircase with them and she did! She climbed into a sleeping bag with each boy and slide down (on her backside) into a pile of blankets and pillows time after time until they tired of the experience. It took weeks of chiropractic adjustment to fix the damage to her spine…but she loved to remind the boys that she did it. She relished the moment and made a memory.
Kathy was the better of the two of us in terms of discernment…she seemed to know before I did how things were going to turn out. She was a realistic in most things as opposed to my optimistic “half-full” approach to our lives. Kathy knew that this past Christmas was going to be important for our family and so she made Christmas 2010 something to remember and I’m sure the boys, daughters and children will not forget it…
…nor will we forget her.
Kathy is forever indelibly etched into the fabric of our lives, engraved into our hearts.
I miss Kathy terribly and sometimes my missing her hurts so bad I cannot take it. It unimaginable to me that life will go on without her in my life. She is the essence of who our family became and her fingerprints are on all of us.
We have no choice but to live on despite the pain and to know that if the roles were reversed and she were here (on our birthday) she would cherish the moment, create a memory and celebrate life. So, we will.
Happy Birthday, Kathy.
I love you always!
Bill
