An angel among us

I have been blessed my whole life to be surrounded by angels. Some of them I cannot see, but many of them I can. One angel that has made my life richer is my sweet cousin, Becky. I have never known Becky as a healthy woman. And yet while I always check in on her health status, I have never thought of her as sick either. Becky has fought cystic fibrosis for so many years now, and yet in my eyes her battle has been invisible. Never have I known someone to love life so much. Never have I seen a more positive and optimistic person. She makes jokes about her needs such as her oxygen tube and her many stays in her hospital bed. No one feels uncomfortable around Becky, like they do around so many others fighting health battles. She has always been so comfortable with who she is and what her trial is that within an instant you see past everything else and only see her shining spirit. It's a gift that I have contemplated a lot lately.

In fact Becky was such a fighter that I think I never thought she would finally go. This is a hard one to accept for so many of us. Becky has finally left us for greater adventures. She is now with her sweet brother, Parrin, who also fought the fight against their "65 Roses". She is with our beloved and greatly missed grandparents and Uncle David.

She has left a wake of people behind her that will miss her so much. Our lives are without a doubt a little more empty. When I think of the incredible relationships she had with her parents, her daughters, her brothers and sisters, and especially my dad, my heart breaks. The world is a little darker.

So tonight as we set out, once again, to our homeland to say our goodbyes, I will tuck the lessons she has taught me into my heart. I will try a little bit harder to be a little bit kinder, a little bit more patient, a little more thankful, a little more forgiving. I will be reminded how precious this life truly is and how small all the rest of it is. I will love. I will serve. I will be thoughtful and generous. I will say "See ya later" to my cousin, friend, and angel. And I will try my hardest to make up for my past and live in the future the way she did so that I can end up where I know without a doubt she is now. Even now, she gives her gifts of life and living.