I just sent the following to my newsletter subscribers, but wanted to share it here on my blog as well…
Hello friends,
It’s been a long while since I have sent anything out. I hope you are well! I’ve been going through a difficult time so I haven’t been sharing as much. My dad, who I will always love with all of my heart, was diagnosed with brain cancer last July and passed away in early January. It’s been so hard on all of us who love him. We take comfort in believing he is in Heaven for all of eternity, but we still miss him and always will.
We had a beautiful celebration of life service last month. And he has even written a book that will be coming out. I’m not sure of the timeline yet, but I will let you know when it launches out into the world. I’ve read it again recently and it was so comforting because I felt like I could hear his voice within the pages. The book has a basketball backdrop, but it’s about so much more than sports. It’s about life. And faith. And I love it and think you will, too.
Here are a few things that honor my dad (Westy) that have brought comfort to us:
His Hall of Fame speech given about one year and a half ago (As one friend wrote on FB, “He got promoted from the Hall of Fame to the Hall of Faith.”)
His Celebration of Life service
I also highly recommend the book, Heaven, by Randy Alcorn. I read this book so quickly because it helped me to be able to envision my dad as he is today in Heaven. I recommend this book to anyone with a loved one in Heaven or anyone who plans on going there themselves one day.
He loved basketball and he was good enough as a pro to make it into the hall of fame, but basketball was never his life. It’s just something he did and not who he was.
I will always miss him, but am thankful for the legacy he has left. I know that I have the amazing husband that I do today as a direct result of the example my dad showed me for my whole life.
How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.”
Winnie the Pooh
Blessings,
Tori