the sixth year.

This was the last picture I ever took with this beautiful lady. It's so hard to believe it's been six years since she left this world to go be with Jesus in the next, and I'd be lying if I said the pain of losing her doesn't still exist. I don't think you ever get over this kind of sorrow, but you do learn to cope. I am at peace with her no longer being here with us because I know where she is. I know she's sitting at the feet of Jesus, worshiping him constantly. She slipped away into eternity to be greeted by her Creator and Father early on August 28, 2006, but her memory is so real that, sometimes, I pick up the phone thinking I might call her and see if I can stop by.

I praise Jesus for giving me the opportunity to love someone so deeply at such a young age. One day, I'll be a mom, grandmother, and great-grandmother, just as she was, and it is my most heartfelt prayer that I grow up to be just like her. Even her wacky sense of humor beckons me. If I'm half the woman that Ma was, I'll have lived one heck of a life.

"When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight."

-Kahlil Gibran