So, today I am happy because I know that God has blessed me with many amazing friends back home who will always love me, no matter what. Today I am especially happy to have Emily Trowbridge as one of my closest friends.
As many of you know, I lost my older brother about 15 months ago due to a sudden heart attack at age 19. Last fall, I was feeling alone, obviously my friends wanted to be there for me, and they tried to be there for me, but they couldn't relate to what I was feeling, I needed someone who KNEW what it felt like to lose someone. Enter, Emily Trowbridge into my life! Emily came in as a college student looking to lead high school students in the youth group, and we hit it off almost instantly! We are very alike in our personalities, attitude about life, and we even grew up two blocks away from each other! It is still insane how I lived 18 years and never knew who she was...Anyways, the first Sunday she visited, we started talking and I just thought, "This girl is soo cool, wouldn't it be awesome if we ended up becoming friends?" Well, apparently she was thinking something similar to that because later that week she messaged me and basically said, I love your personality and your attitude about life...let's be friends...and that's how it started! As the year went on, we grew in our friendship, to the point where she wasn't even really my leader, but more like a really good friend(I mean, she IS like a year older than me...). I quickly learned her story, and it was obvious to me that God had really put Emily into my life when I needed her most, and I am so grateful for that!
I had always thought it would be a really cool thing for me to be baptized on Easter Sunday, because the funeral was that last Easter, and the Easter before that, Graham was baptized. As Easter drew nearer, I began to talk to my youth leader about being baptized, and I remember the first thing he said was that we weren't having Easter baptisms this year. Instead, we would have a baptism night on a Wednesday night, after the communal dinner, and that "random" Wednesday night just so happened to be the one year anniversary of Graham's death, March 23rd. The second thing my pastor told me was that I needed a mentor. Instantly, I thought of Emily, and she was more than happy to become my mentor. As we worked through the "Baptismal study" booklet, we grew into even closer friends. I learned that her experience with grief and loss was very, VERY similar to mine, and I knew the struggles that she faced in her life would be an example of God's grace to me.
I cannot imagine my senior year without this wonderful lady in my life. I can't imagine going to church and NOT seeing Emily and giving her the biggest hug ever, and I can't imagine being baptized without her in my life! Emily, she is more than a leader, more than a mentor, even sometimes she is more than a friend to me, she is my sister! Her smile and outgoing personality shines in absolutely everything she does, and she has the most contagious laugh EVER! Emily wasn't afraid to meet me where I was at, in my misery and sorrow. In fact, she climbed into that pit of misery and sorrow with me, and helped to bring me out. Even if I'm not completely done with grieving(I never will be), I would not have the peace, love, and JOY that I have today without her. Emily worked hard to teach me that although she had met me where I was at when I felt alone, I had a savior who was already there, holding me, and meeting me in my sorrow and misery. Above all, Emily showed me that it is ok to be happy. She showed me that Graham would WANT me to be happy and enjoy my life, I shouldn't feel guilty about being happy, or enjoying my life without him. Instead, I should live my days out to the fullest, because that's how he lived his life, and his life was cut painfully short, so I should live my life to the fullest because I can, and because he can't, and because he rejoices in heaven when he see's his little sister happy and joyful and successful in life. I don't know WHAT I would do without knowing these simple things, and I KNOW I have Emily to thank for that. So, thank you Emily! Thank you for meeting me where I was at, teaching me that I have a savior who had already done that, and thank you for bringing me to a place where I can be at peace with my life, my past, and my future. Thank you for showing me that Graham would want me to be happy! I love you lots lady!!
<3 Always,
Rose
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