In this picture is my sister-in-law, Brittany (the bride) and her father, Mike on her wedding day back in 2018.  Probably one of the happiest days of her life, and for him too. A joy-filled moment during the father-daughter dance.

On this past New Year’s Eve, Mike was working at his job which took him miles away from home on a weekly basis.  While at work, Mike died of a heart attack. He was 58 years old. The joy of Brittany’s wedding day now gets clouded with the pain and grief of her father’s death.  There is no explanation for this. Only shock and grief.

I can’t imagine what Brittany and her family are going through.  However, as I’ve gotten to know my sister-in-law, and all that she brings to our family, I am thankful to Mike and how he (and Brittany’s mom) have shaped Brittany into who she is as I know her. Mike lives on in Brittany.

She is spirited!  She takes no s*^# from my brother and I am thankful for that!  She gives it right back to him! She also gives him love. I’ve never seen my brother happier than I have now.  She brings such humor into my life. She has a great way of telling a story! She shows how important family is by the way she loves her nieces.  My brother has complained many times how Brittany has filled their DVR with programs for the girls! Brittany is someone who wants to enjoy life to the fullest, I believe.

I owe gratitude and thanks to Mike for what his daughter brings into my family’s life.  Even though Mike died at the young age of 58, my hope is that he lived the way Brittany lives.  I hope that he lived his life to the fullest too! I hope that he gave his opinion without holding it back, and loved his children and grandchildren like no other father or grandfather!  So that when he died, he died with a full heart and in peace.

Mike is also a reminder to me of how precious life is and how quickly it can change.  Nothing is guaranteed, not even 5 minutes from now.

With his death being at the cusp of a new year, I believe Mike is a reminder to me for many things for this new year:

• Never take life for granted.

• Never take relationships for granted.  If you want to say I Love You, then say it!

• Make sure you are making time for the most important people in your life.

• Don’t pass up opportunities to strengthen relationships, even when they are the most difficult.

• Don’t let the petty things get you down.  Figure out how to get past them so that you can get back to living!

• Make time for love.

• Make time for family.

• Make time for friends.

• Make room to grow.

• Live your life to the fullest in 2020!

This is not worrying about your life being cut short.  It’s about how you want to live your life with more purpose, passion, and joy right now!  It’s not about how long we live on this earth. It’s about how deeply we live while we are here, in each moment!  We are called to show up fully in our lives! Nothing less than that.

In that picture, I can see how deeply Mike loves his daughter.  I believe that love has been there since the moment Brittany was born.  And it has grown, and it has made her the person she is today. My sense is that Mike lived life with the fullest sense of love.  My sense is that he is looking down and beaming with pride for who she is. My hope and prayer now is that he is being greeted with that same big love that he gave to his family, and his daughter.