Dear Anne: The woman who inspired my Life and taught me to Just Smile

Faith is the strength by which a shattered world shall emerge into the light.
- Helen Keller

Dear Anne,

You have a love for life like no one I have ever known, and you spread your joy and happiness to everyone you have ever met. Everyone who has ever crossed your path took with them a piece of you, and a determination to be a little more like you. If the saying “only the good die young” has any truth, than you are the epitome of that. Because you love life so much, and never wear a frown; that is what we will always remember.

You touched the lives of so many, and gave people a sense of faith they never knew they had inside them. Your amazing husband and your beautiful children are so blessed to have a mother as exceptional as you.

While we all try to comfort you the best we know how, it’s amazing to me that instead, you, are the one who is comforting us. Your strength is eternal, and your will and spirit to fight is astonishing. And for that, I thank you; I thank you for allowing all of us to carry that spirit with us in our hearts forever.

God has a plan, and you must be the exceptionally chosen one. Through all the suffering, there is a higher rationalization that we cannot yet see. But someday, we will understand that you were needed for a journey well beyond our comprehension.

The Lord is close to all who call on him, yes, to all who call on Him sincerely.
--Psalm 145:18

When I think of you, I think of an Angel, because I see that faint halo above your head, reminding me that there is so much more to life, and you have taught me that. Your children can already see it, and they will have the same cheerful smile and superior faith as you.

Your love for life is contagious, and you’ve spread so much good to this world that we will all be eternally grateful and in debt to you.

God has a wonderful plan for each life. There is a time for everything: "a time to be born, a time to die; a time to weep, a time to laugh." Through that list of opposites he declared that God has a perfect plan that includes what we need, the painful as well as the pleasant. If we accept those as God's choices for us, coming from his loving heart -- not out of anger, not out of desire to punish, but out of love -- we will discover three wonderful things. First, we will be enabled to enjoy all of life, even the painful circumstances. Secondly, we will learn to know God. Jesus said, "This is life eternal, that they may know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent." We will satisfy the sense of eternity which God has put in each heart. That will happen when our attitude toward life changes because of our relationship with God. Thirdly, this lesson will be repeated for us until we learn it, until we get it down right.

- Ecclesiastes: 4 and 5, Chapter 3

I hope you know how much you are loved, as well as Rick, Adelia, Greta, and you little gift from God, Mathias, born healthy through all the cancer treatments. Your family is blessed, though today, it may not seem so. But your family will always carry a piece of you inside their hearts forever. For the rest of us, the memories will never die, and we will be sure to always share our memories of our happy times with you with your children, as they will never forget the woman who loved them the most.

I can’t say goodbye, because it will never be goodbye. Since love in life is eternal, again, someday, we shall meet. I love you with all my heart Anne, and am grateful for the lessons in life you have shared with me, that I can carry with me forever and continue to pass on. Anne, I’ll never be able to thank you enough, only show my gratitude by sharing your spirit and genuine love for life, and all else around you, and becoming a better person myself. So as I continue in my own unknown journey through life, you’ll be my inspiration, I’ll make you proud: and one day, we will meet again.

Until Then Anne, I love you

Megan