We journeyed to Illinois this past weekend to celebrate Ryan's life with our family and friends. I thought it would be a good way to honor Ryan's life as he spent so much of it in Illinois (the first 25 years). I was blessed to see so many familiar faces from our life in Illinois and to meet so many people who were part of Ryan's life growing up. I really appreciate all of you who took the time to share memories of Ryan with me both during the service and afterwards. Words cannot begin to describe the treasure that they are to me and will one day be to Lily and Wyatt.
I want to say a few special thank yous: to Ryan's mentor, Jon, who did a beautiful job leading a service that was a great picture of who Ryan was; to the Evangelical Free Church of Crystal Lake, who put together such a lovely service and luncheon for our family; to all of the doctors, nurses, and RT's who came to the different services; to my family who supported me during both services; to my friends who traveled to be with me, whether in Michigan or Illinois or both.
While I know that Ryan would be blessed by our celebration of his life in Illinois, I must admit that it was so difficult to be there without him. It was the first time that I had been in Illinois without Ryan in over 6 years. It was hard for me to drive down Randall Road and travel past all of the places that were special to us in the first few years of our relationship. I was sad as I passed the street to turn for our first house. I also thought about how much Ryan would have loved the drive on Randall Rd..."capitalism at its best" was his favorite way to describe the corn fields that had turned to shopping centers.
It is hard to see where life will go from here. We moved back into the townhouse today and now life will really return to normal...a new normal where I have no idea what to expect. I know that God will continue to bless us in so many ways as he has done to this point; it remains a matter of trust and faith in his love for me and Lily and Wyatt. Thank you for your prayers to this point and please continue to pray for us as we begin another new chapter.
I hope that you enjoy the pictures. Some are from this past weekend as we spent time with our family in Illinois. Other pictures are from both Father's Day and a family birthday party here in Michigan.
2 comments:
I'm so glad the Illinois celebration went well. I will be praying for you, Lily, and Wyatt each and every day as you start this new "normal" life.
I wish we could've been there. I know we weren't close with you guys, but you are still our family in Christ. We'll be praying still for you and all of the "little things" and big that are ahead. It's both sad to remember, and great to have had the time.
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