Life Goes On...

Last week while I was in Utah with my daughter, I got word that the husband of a friend of mine had died. His funeral was Tuesday so I made the trip to Kemmerer to console my friend. There were so many people attending the funeral, they had to move it to the High School Auditorium.

I knew Larry and Carolyn from Pinedale, a little town in western Wyoming where I grew up. Larry was a friend of Mike, my first husband and father of my children. I became friends with Carolyn but moved away from Pinedale before Larry became a preacher and was a missionary in Peru for 18 years. I kept in touch with them over the years and received their prayer letters. I have had little contact with other people from Pinedale days.

I estimated that there were over 300 people at the funeral and recognized many Pinedale people. I was amazed at the number of people who recognized me; I chatted with most of them. Others turned their backs to me as if I wore a Scarlet Letter. Some asked me how I found out about the funeral and wondered why I would attend or even travel that far. (For me, traveling 300 miles in one day is like a hop and a skip.)

The funeral was very inspiring and uplifting as Larry had a special way about him to make people feel at ease around him. Everyone who spoke told how Larry's influence had changed their lives. I walked out of there feeling empowered.

On the drive back to Utah, I pondered about what I have accomplished in my life, what legacy I might be leaving behind and what others might say about me when it is my time to be placed in a pine box. I have no answers to these questions but my hope is that people will remember me with kindness and that I have touched them in a positive way.

Life goes on and so must I.
Jo