A Celebration Of Life...

Today I attended a funeral in College Station. One of my sorority sister's husband's, Layne, passed away after a courageous 7 year battle with brain cancer. While it is truly heartbreaking that Layne is not longer here on earth, we can rejoice in the fact that he is pain free and loving his new life up in heaven.

The funeral was beyond anything I had ever seen, and it was such a wonderful celebration of life. The large church was practically standing room only....it was completely overwhelming and very emotional. I have never seen a man honored the way that Layne was that day, and I know that he must have been smiling down on that moment-with his family and friends all together taking time to remember him. It was amazing what an inspiration Layne was to so many people in his short period here on this earth. The stories that were told during his funeral were heartwarming and light...and it was obvious that he was loved and cared for by so many. The constant theme throughout his last days and his funeral was that when he stood at the entrance to heaven's gates that God would say "Well done good and faithful servant". And that Layne would know that he ran the race, fought the good fight, and won. There is a lot of joy in that!

There was a reception afterward that hundreds and hundreds of people stayed for....just to talk with one another, and with his wife Erin. I think that is what he would have wanted as well-people he loved and cared for.... just celebrating his life. Erin has been a true rock through this entire battle, and she has served her husband and children so well. I think we could all only hope to follow in her footsteps, if a trial of this magnitude ever came our way. The Caring Bridge site (that she so actively kept up for Layne and those that cared about him), was an enormous witness to so many people. I think it was viewed over 35,000 times by the time Layne passed away. My hope and prayer is that she and their 2 boys (Paxon-4, and Preston-2) will be engulfed in tremendous love by all of the people that read the site and knew their family.

Layne will be missed by so many but there is no doubt that he leaves a legacy that people will not soon forget. Please join me in praying for Erin and the boys over this next year as they start to walk this journey. We love you Erin!!