Don't let your life pass you by...

... weep not for the memories

[I Will Remember You, Sarah McLachlan]

Today is July 17, 2006. The significance of this day is that my good friend from college, Jamie Shara, would have turned 24 today.

Instead, last May, the Lord chose to allow brain seizures to overtake her and bring her home to Himself. This was painful for all of us that knew her, but she died surrounded by friends and family holding hands and lifting her up in prayer.

Rarely does a day go by that she still doesn't come to mind; the pain right now is nearly as fresh as it was last May when I was caught totally by surprise by news of her being struck with seizures; she had gotten engaged exactly one week before.

I will always love her, and always wonder who she might have become. I'll never know; but I do rest in knowing that she had a growing relationship with her Lord Jesus Christ and she is with Him today.

I wrote a tribute to her when she died last May (it still kills me a little inside to use the word "die" and it's various conjugations), and you can, if you so choose, read it here:

In Memory of Jamie