Five Months
Life moves on and stands still all at the same time. Time is a funny thing. I certainly don’t believe the saying, “Time healing all wounds.” I don’t think the wound of losing Briella will ever heal. I think I will just get better at walking this new hard path. Just as an athlete gets better with practice, I too will get better at walking as I practice each day putting one foot in front of the other.
First annual Story Night
There were more firsts this past holiday weekend. All these firsts are so hard. Briella loved the 4th of July. She loved it as it was always a time to get together with family and play games and celebrate. Remember she loved faith, family, friends, gymnastics, and art. This 4th of July weekend we still gathered as extended family and we still celebrated, there was just added sadness to our celebration. On Saturday night we have our first annual Story Night remembering Briella. We had her favorite for supper, Applebee’s boneless wings and we all wore red, white and blue beads as Briella loved to do. We sat around the bonfire and shared stories. There was laughter and tears. Briella will always be a part of us. On Sunday most the family went frisbee golfing as we have done in the past. Briella was missed the entire time. So much family time and outdoor games were enjoyed. I can’t help but think that Briella would have declared it “the best weekend!”
a scratch art done by Briella
Recently we got together with some dear friends. Of course, we talked about Briella. They shared with us that we don’t have to talk about Briella in the past tense. We talk about Jesus in the present tense because Jesus is alive in heaven. Briella is ALIVE in heaven. Her body died, and she left us, but she is still changing lives. As we shared stories last Saturday night, we shared how Briella has changed lives. It has been ongoing. We love to hear stories. It helps us see the goodness of God even in the hard.
The number 12 keeps coming up in moments as we reflect on Briella and her life. Recently when doing a Bible study, the study directed me to look up some of the miracles of Jesus. One of those miracles was Jairus’ daughter. I did not remember that Jairus’ daughter was also 12 years old. This story is interwoven in the miracle of Jesus healing a woman who had been bleeding for 12 years. Twelve. This got me thinking of all the other 12s in Scripture. Jacob had 12 sons, there were 12 tribes of Israel, 12 disciples, Jesus ministered in the temple when he was 12 years old, 12 spies were sent into the Promised Land, 12 baskets of leftover food after feeding the 5,000, tree of life has 12 fruits, 12 gates in heaven, 12 stones in the foundation of new Jerusalem, 12 stones as memorial in the Jordan River. I did a little research. 12 appears 187 times in the Bible, 22 of those times is in Revelation. I found out that 12 is considered the perfect number. It means perfection or completion. It symbolizes God’s power and authority and His coming kingdom. Briella was 12 years old when she was diagnosed, and she lived 12 weeks after diagnosis. She was diagnosed on November 12, 2022. She went to be with Jesus on February 6 (half of twelve) at 6:13pm. That means her last breath on earth was at 6:12pm. Her favorite Bible verse is 1 Peter 5:7 (5+7=12). I’m not really sure what God is trying to tell us, but I do know He is telling us He is in the details, and He is giving us eyes to see Him in all of this. Briella’s 12 years of life was complete for her. God is using her 12 precious years. 12 just might be my new favorite number. Even if there is no significance in the number 12, God is using it to help me see Him as good and as being in Briella’s story.
Psalm 31:19, “Oh, how abundant is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you and worked for those who take refuge in you, in the sight of the children of mankind!”