Im not here to tell my testimony, im here to tell a touching story of a person who struggled for life and ended up losing it to leukemia. This is the story of my cousin James.
I never knew James really well. It could have been the 8 hour driving distance between us or the 9 year age gap. Whatever it was, I was sad to find out that I learned more about him at his funeral than during his life. Although I do remember some things about hiim, I dont remember much.
What I remember:
~ When he was in highschool and one more time after that, he visited the Netherlands. I told myself after the second time that I would go one day too.
~I remember being in fifth grade when he was first diagnosed with leukemia, not even knowing what it was and praying every day for Jamie to be alright.
~I remember lastly, not too long ago in eighth grade praying every day for the second time because after four long years in remission, he had leukemia again, and it wasnt going too well.
I remember the call we got on July 9, during Vacation Bible School this summer, telling us that our beloved cousin had died. I took it as at first, "Hey, it's ok now, he's not sick anymore", then shock, "My cousin is dead", then it hit me over the head as we were going to his funeral hearing "I Can Only Imagine" at least three times on the way there and back. I remember silently crying on the way to Iowa. And then, his memorial.
What I learned:
~ James and I were very much alike: we were both interested in acting, outspoken, crazy, and loved music. He even had a band: Winster Dean, named after his pastor.
~James lived life to the fullest. After his first time with leukemia, he decided to live life and be grateful for every day.
~James was a trouble maker. One of his friends came home one night with a dent in the front bumber of his father's car. Appearantly, there was a tight space that they needed to go through, and "Jamie said we could fit through it."
~James was well loved. Everybody loved him because he too, loved everyone he met.
~He ate like a horse. Of cours, I'm guessing that comes with being 6'6". He especially loved his mom's muffins.
I could go on but there's too many I remember looking into the casket and seeing a man who looked nothinglike the always smiling Jamie I had onece known. Wearing a brown hat his to-be-fiancee made for him and a blue velvet shirt that she had bought for him on the night they found out he had leukemia again. The went to a play together to cheer him up.
And then, the funeral. I don't remember it becuase I was on nursury duty for my baby cousiins, but when they put his body in the ground, I broke in half. My brother saw me crying and put his arms around me, re-asssuring me everything would be ok. Hearing my aunt wail was the hardest thing Ive had to do; ever.
When we were leaving Iowa, my Aunt held my sister's and my hand telling us this:
"Dont take eachother for granted. Enjoy the sunshine, enjoy the breeze, enjoy the grass. Enjoy the couds, for tha means the sun will come out again. Enjoy the seasons, tthey will always forllow eachother. And most importantly, enjoy life ~it's way too short. That's what Jamie would say."
The whole pooint of this story is to tell what a big impact his death had on my life. And because of that, I challenge anyone who reads this to do a nice thing for threee people, something Christ would do. Instead of you getting paid for this, tell them they have to pass it on to three more people and those three have to pass it on to three more. In a year, we can touch thousands, millions of people.
That's what Jamie would say.
I never knew James really well. It could have been the 8 hour driving distance between us or the 9 year age gap. Whatever it was, I was sad to find out that I learned more about him at his funeral than during his life. Although I do remember some things about hiim, I dont remember much.
What I remember:
~ When he was in highschool and one more time after that, he visited the Netherlands. I told myself after the second time that I would go one day too.
~I remember being in fifth grade when he was first diagnosed with leukemia, not even knowing what it was and praying every day for Jamie to be alright.
~I remember lastly, not too long ago in eighth grade praying every day for the second time because after four long years in remission, he had leukemia again, and it wasnt going too well.
I remember the call we got on July 9, during Vacation Bible School this summer, telling us that our beloved cousin had died. I took it as at first, "Hey, it's ok now, he's not sick anymore", then shock, "My cousin is dead", then it hit me over the head as we were going to his funeral hearing "I Can Only Imagine" at least three times on the way there and back. I remember silently crying on the way to Iowa. And then, his memorial.
What I learned:
~ James and I were very much alike: we were both interested in acting, outspoken, crazy, and loved music. He even had a band: Winster Dean, named after his pastor.
~James lived life to the fullest. After his first time with leukemia, he decided to live life and be grateful for every day.
~James was a trouble maker. One of his friends came home one night with a dent in the front bumber of his father's car. Appearantly, there was a tight space that they needed to go through, and "Jamie said we could fit through it."
~James was well loved. Everybody loved him because he too, loved everyone he met.
~He ate like a horse. Of cours, I'm guessing that comes with being 6'6". He especially loved his mom's muffins.
I could go on but there's too many I remember looking into the casket and seeing a man who looked nothinglike the always smiling Jamie I had onece known. Wearing a brown hat his to-be-fiancee made for him and a blue velvet shirt that she had bought for him on the night they found out he had leukemia again. The went to a play together to cheer him up.
And then, the funeral. I don't remember it becuase I was on nursury duty for my baby cousiins, but when they put his body in the ground, I broke in half. My brother saw me crying and put his arms around me, re-asssuring me everything would be ok. Hearing my aunt wail was the hardest thing Ive had to do; ever.
When we were leaving Iowa, my Aunt held my sister's and my hand telling us this:
"Dont take eachother for granted. Enjoy the sunshine, enjoy the breeze, enjoy the grass. Enjoy the couds, for tha means the sun will come out again. Enjoy the seasons, tthey will always forllow eachother. And most importantly, enjoy life ~it's way too short. That's what Jamie would say."
The whole pooint of this story is to tell what a big impact his death had on my life. And because of that, I challenge anyone who reads this to do a nice thing for threee people, something Christ would do. Instead of you getting paid for this, tell them they have to pass it on to three more people and those three have to pass it on to three more. In a year, we can touch thousands, millions of people.
That's what Jamie would say.
