Leaving a Legacy

I just got home from the funeral of my mom's best friend, Janice Hammond. One week ago tomorrow, she was killed in a plane crash in Lawrenceburg, TN. She and her husband Clay were returning to their home here to spend the weekend with their family. We got the call last Saturday while were were at the beach. I have spent the past week remembering Janice with all of her family and friends, especially my mom. Those two could get into more than anybody I know. Everytime my mom would call and say they were going shoppping together, I knew there would be some wild adventure to tell when she returned. My most favorite was the time they stopped on the side of the road b/c they were convinced that they were having car trouble. Can you imagine two middle aged women on the side of a country road, all dressed up for a day of shopping with their ears down on the hood of a car trying to figure out where this sound was coming from?? I believe at one point Janice even said, "Vonda, I am afraid it is going to blow up!" I wish I could say it didn't take long for them to solve the mystery, but from what I remember this went on for some time; until they finally realized it was a weather siren going off! They had so many good times together. Most recently, they experimented with the effectiveness of giving oneself a shower while also washing your car in the drive through carwash. Throughout all of my mom and Janice's medical issues they have been there for one another. I can't even begin to count the number of trips they have made to Birmingham together. Good times, bad times, births, deaths, they were always there for each other. I can't even begin to imagine how lost my mom will feel over the next weeks, months and years; b/c I know a friend like that only happens once in a lifetime.

Janice's death has caused everyone in our community to think about their lives and their families; and hold those they love the most closer than before. Everyone that knew her was touch in someway by the life that she lived. She was one of those people you just couldn't say anything bad about. She was a giver, a caretaker, a soft place to fall and an ever-present encourager. You would never hear her complain or pitty herself over the heartache life had sent her way, and believe me she had more than her share. She knew what it meant to hurt, but she always seemed to find a way to turn that pain into something productive. Today the church was filled to capacity and even had overflow rooms b/c there wasn't even standing room. What a testament to her life! What a legacy for her children and grandchildren! Although she is gone, her Christlike characteristics will live on in them. She was just that type of person...she was contagious. I know there is fear that she will be forgotten, but I don't think it is possible to forget someone like that. Those are the type of people that you carry those stories around with you and use them to get you through.
What kind of stories will be told when you die? Will they be stories that live on forever? Will your legacy be one for your family to be proud of?

God, wrap your arms around all of those that loved and miss Janice. Give them the strength to get through each day. Help them, Lord, like only you can. May our lives bring glory to you, and, as with Janice, may our deaths do the same.