Home for a matter of hours and back on the road again I am now in my hometown Sherman, Texas. Uncle Garnet’s rosary and visitation is in the next hour. What I anticipate is the opportunity to visit family I haven’t seen in years. All of us coming together to remember our quiet warrior.
Uncle Garnet was a man of few words but his presence filled a room. Every visit home I made it a point to visit with Uncle Garnet and Aunt Tickie and fill them in on what was going on in my life. No matter which room Aunt Tickie and I would settle to catch up Uncle Garnet would find us, sit down in the seat next to his wife, and listen. Often I’d find him wiping away a tear, especially in these last few years of his life as his spirit surely recognized his call was near to his eternal home.
Though he never said a word he always made me feel like I was heard, that he cared, that I was special and meant something to him.
“Remember that when you leave this earth, you can take with you nothing that have received–only what you have given.”
― St. Francis of Assisi
Uncle Garnet gave me his love and attention and I am grateful to have the opportunity today to celebrate his life. I want to share with you a very recent memory his daughter, Karen, shared:
“My dad was a mountain of a man. His family was his top priority ALWAYS. He set the bar high. But just to share a sweet story, A few weeks back me, my mom & dad were in the ER room. My dad is of course laying in the bed & mom asks if he needs a cover. He responds no, but he would like one thing, a kiss from mom. She walks over & gives him a kiss & he says, “Your kisses are enough to keep me warm”. This touched my heart & I was blessed to hear it, something I’ll never forget.”
Aunt Tickie and Uncle Garnet were married 58 years. May we all be blessed with this same everlasting love.
Blessings
Shannon