Remembering Sara

I have been thinking about my daughter, Sara, this week. Two years ago tomorrow the Lord took her home to be with Him. When someone close to you is gone, you tend to remember the good memories. I know Sara wasn't perfect, by any means, and she had some very hard times in her brief life. But what I remember are the wonderful qualities she had.

From the time she was small, Sara did not know a stranger. I used to worry about her, because she would make friends with everyone! When she was taken from us she had so many friends. This was very evident at the memorial service we had for her in Oklahoma City. There were so many young people in her age group at that service. We talked to some of her friends, and these are some of the comments they made:

"She was my best friend", "We were like sisters", "she was so nice and kind", "I don't have one bad memory of Sara", "she knew how to make us laugh", "she gave us backrubs", "Sara never held grudges". Her brother said, "She was springy, she was peppy, she had no volume control", she believed in God".

As her mother, I remember her sweet, sensitive spirit. She was always much more concerned about other people and tried to encourage them. Even as young as kindergarten, her teacher said, she doesn't always get her work done, because she's going around helping other kids!

After my first husband, her dad, died, Sara was the one that would remember special days--his birthday, the anniversary of his death, etc. I remember once on my birthday she came over to spend the evening with me; we watched a movie and had popcorn. I remember telling her, "you don't have to hang out with me". Her comment was "now that dad's gone, someone has to take care of you".

After Sara's funeral, when we were cleaning out Sara's apartment, I found a piece of paper back in the corner of a closet. It was a letter that she had started to write to my current husband, Lynn. She said "I hope you are enjoying being married again to my wonderful mom. I am sure she is taking good care of you cause she is great at that, and in return I hope you are giving her a hard time, because someone needs to and that was always my department".

I miss Sara's laughter--she has such a great smile and a great laugh. I miss her calling me and saying "Hey, mama, wha's up?" I know that on June 26th she was reunited with her Grandpa Gisel, and I'm sure they are really having a good time together.

Thank you Lord, for allowing me to have Sara as a part of my life for 28 years. She was a sweetheart and brought much joy into our lives.

We thought of you with love today,
But that is nothing new.

We thought about you yesterday,
And the days before that too.

We think of you in silence,
We often speak your name.

Now all we have are memories,
And your picture in a frame.

Your memory is a keepsake
With which we'll never part.

God has you in His keeping,
We have you in our heart.