Saturday will be the 2nd anniversary of Sally’s going home to be with the Lord. Not a day has passed that I haven’t missed her. But anniversaries are especially difficult, and this one more so.
This photo from over 40 years ago is proof enough of who it was that I married. This is her comforting our youngest, Matt. The love and compassion she showed for him was endless for each of us.
I look back at this excerpt from In a Mirror Dimly and I well remember my emotions the day it was written:
I’m hurting now because I’ve lost her. But what if I’d never found her, if the Father had never joined us together. I loved the most adorable creature God ever created, and He brought us together for 42 years. I see her everywhere I look. Every nook and cranny of my home is her: it is the way it is because that’s how she wanted it. But also, every flower that she loved, the smell of her perfume, every song that was a favorite brings her and her smile to my mind. I hear her laugh. I imagine her laughing at me. I imagine her loving our grandchildren. I imagine the love on her face when she hugged one of our children. I imagine the joy on her face when she worshiped the Lord.
I look at how her character molded our children. I am not with them more than a few minutes when one or another will say or do or produce “the look” very Sally-like. The qualities of love and service and nurturing and faith I see being passed along to their children. And I pray that legacy will never end.
So, on Saturday I will celebrate her with my family and friends. We will remember her and all that she brought to our lives. And we will thank our Lord God that we had her for a little while.
