Have you ever met someone who, in spite of mountainous challenges- seems to find goodness in life? That was my sister, Sarah.
Sarah never had a drivers license, a cell phone, or home of her own… but she somehow had an extraordinary ability to embrace the blessings all around her. Sarah’s life took a drastic turn at age 13, with a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia, along with a few other psychiatric challenges. Through the decades, though, Sarah would find joy in the simplest things. In her words… “and that’s a good thing.”
I love how she celebrated warm sunshine on her face, cheese on her grits, floating on a raft in Lake Burton, velcro shoes, and beanie weenies.
Sarah’s mind would go places the rest of us could only imagine. She apparently had top security clearance with the CIA, and her most recent roommate was a Secret Service Agent. (certainly both very good things). One month ago today- at 5:30pm, Sarah breathed her first glorious breath in Heaven.
Celebrating the Good Stuff Last week, a few close family members gathered to remember her life and celebrate her graduation to Heaven. We will always miss Sarah’s kind heart, quirky sense of humor, and wildly entertaining imagination. We’re also thankful that all the hard parts of Sarah’s story are gone forever. Here’s a short video I made a couple days after her graduation.
I’m pretty sure Sarah would want us all to know that Heaven is for real, and that it’s cooler than anything we could ever imagine.
…and that’s a really good thing.
Thank you, friends and family for your kindness and prayers.
Shine on, sweet Sarah.
If you’re struggling after loss, this podcast might help. It was a real joy sitting down with my friend, and Nothing is Wasted founder, Davey Blackburn. We covered a lot of practical grief-relief tips, and laughed a lot, too. Hope you’ll listen in.