I put off writing this for as long as I could. I wrote songs and stories, poems and letters, but not this. I've put this off for so long because... How can I say goodbye? How can I say everything that is in my heart and echoes with each beat? Bring all of my memories from the back of my mind and put them on paper? For there are not many from my childhood that do not include you. You were always there for me, quiet but strong, another person to guide me, to teach me, to model for me a life of love and faith, the greatest gift you could have given me. And now, it is because of that gift that I can say goodbye, because I know it is not forever.

The night you left us, I wrote this: In the heart of my flesh I am a little girl who has lost her Papa. But in the heart of my spirit I know that we will meet again one day. Not as we were on Earth, but whole, our true selves, restored in the light of God's presence. Though my heart mourns a loss, you have gained Eternal Joy, and I rejoice for you. Until we are face to face in the land that shines brighter than the sun, I will continue to rejoice. I will live, I will laugh, I will pray, I will hope, I will dream, I will love, and I will remember you.