Saturday was the culmination of a very emotional week for our family as we celebrated the life and legacy of my sister-in-law, Tracy Harmon.  The stories that were shared about Tracy brought both tears and laughter, but beyond those memories, the most touching and powerful moment of the service, in my estimation, was when one or more individuals affirmed that they had accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior in response to the pastor's invitation to do so.  This was Tracy's hope. It was reflected in her life prior to her illness as well as post-diagnosis when she wrote, "My biggest desire is that people come to know Jesus Christ through this story."  Letting Tracy go is hard for our family, but that moment of affirmation that her suffering had not been in vain, but that her life and testimony and particularly her faith in the midst of a dark valley had encouraged others to trust Christ, made it all worthwhile.  We mourn for ourselves in light of the void that Tracy's death has created, but we rejoice and come to grips with it because her testimony, witness, and example have borne eternal fruit. Well done, good and faithful servant!

I want to say thank you to everyone who has prayed for and supported our family these past 14 months since Tracy was diagnosed, and particulary this week. I have witnessed such a tremendous outpouring of love these past five days in the form of calls, cards, visits, food, and flowers. On top of this, somewhere in the vicinty of 500 people came to the funeral home on Friday night to pay their respects. 

I have been overwhelmed by the many stories people have shared about the impact Tracy had on their lives. Many are from people I do not know and whose circumstances I was not previously familiar with, and they have helped me to understand and respect Tracy in a whole new way despite my having already known her for more than three decades. I compare this to my father's passing almost ten years ago. He was a teacher by profession, but I just  thought of him as my daddy without giving a lot of consideration to his influence as an educator. But when he died, it was so encouraging to hear from his former students how my dad was their favorite teacher or the one who made learning fun or encouraged them to stay in school or helped them get jobs.  These testimonials helped me see my dad from an entirely different perspective, and this has been the case with Tracy. Her influence reached far beyond what I realized and probably beyond what even she had imagined. It has reminded me to never underestimate the power of one's testimony, Christian walk, and a life well lived in Jesus.  Thank you, Tracy, for your committed service to Jesus and for exemplifying your faith in word and deed and in perfect love. Thank you for being a wonderful wife to my brother and an outstanding mother to my niece and nephew, all three of whom exhibit tremendous faith and strength, no doubt in part, because of your own. 

Thanks again to everyone for your prayers and for all of your encouraging remarks and posts. Thank You God, for Your many blessings, including a close-knit family that loves one another and for the honor and privilege of having known Tracy.  

So long for now, dear sister-in-law...until we meet again!