Taila's 3yr anniversary home going

3 years ago today, Talia went to her eternal home. There is so much comfort in knowing she is with her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Mindsets are very important to navigate life without her on earth. There are two sides to every coin. The above pictures can bring so much joy and laughter from so many amazing memories I had with Talia and at the same time bring so much sadness from the depth of the pain that her absence has left me with. As I reflect on our time together, I'm choosing to reflect on the absolutely incredible woman Talia was. I will never meet anyone sweeter. God knew that's what I needed and He gave that to me in abundance with Talia, so much so, it's taken time away from her to realize just how sweet she was. The funny thing about us was we actually didn't have a lot of hobbies in common, however she made so many attempts to understand jazz especially, to help bridge that gap. This extreme introvert, did so well in trying to go to concerts with me, go to family gatherings, etc... when if she wanted to be selfish, she would never leave the house and be totally fine. Another theme you see is that of Mia! The cat that she never wanted  and ended up being one of her best friends and bringing their relationship a lot of comedic relief to us that loved her. 

Another mindset is just one of thankfulness. In the midst of physical journey at the end, thinking of all those that were so loving and giving in so many ways, from gifts, to calls, to prayers, and support. The little things went a very long way that people won't even know how helpful some of those things were. Talia's attitude though all of this was so humble, courageous, and positive, and searching and learning as she loved to do. 

So I post about the good times and bad because that is the vow and we grow from both. I miss her every day. It's painful but yet, I wouldn't trade anything for the time I had with Talia. God is still teaching me so much about life from Talia's passing. 

I would say my world view has not changed much but I can't go through a situation like this without it effecting some things. I would say the biggest thing is the urgency to spread the love that God has for everyone. Time is not on our side. I want to live with no more regrets than I already have. I want people to know what Jesus did for them and make sure they are thinking about that, because it's the most important decision of anyones life. Talia was here for 43 years. 10 more than Jesus. 

The last couple of weeks have been rough with my Father having some pretty major physical battles. As I approached this 3 year anniversary, I actually relived with him some exact experiences I had with Talia 3 years ago which were not fun in any and brought back som painful memories. However, I am always thankful for this pain when it comes, because it grounds me in what really is important. Time doesn't really heal wounds as they say but I can get complacent to what am I here for. Some peoples reactions to this experienced is, I'm going to live life to the fullest while I can. For me personally, that is a selfish. If I didn't have Heaven on the horizon, that most likely would be what I would do, however, my time ending on earth is just the beginning of my eternal journey with Jesus and I want as many people coming to this party as possible as does Jesus. My time in Israel only reaffirmed Jesus is not some fairy tail. Despite that Jesus speaks so much about faith, there is so much archeological evidence to His time here that you almost don't need it and so many things that actually validate the Bible, God's love letter to us. 

So this year I first want to remember just how incredible Talia was and the amazing gift God gave me in her being my wife. I want to Honor her memory always both in who she was and how she navigated the end of her journey with such beauty and grace. I want to remember and pay respect to all those that were with us at the end of this earthy journey who showed us so much love. I include pictures of what I call her Heaven Portal. Her favorite show was Stargate and the main character goes through a portal to different places. One of the many books I read after her passing, referred to the cemetery as their Heaven Portal and thought it was so fitting. Please think about the after life. We are spirits housed in these dang bodies that fail. When the body finally fails for the last time, we are still spirits that live eternally. Please look at what Jesus did for you so that no one should perish but have everlasting life.This is also why I don't say Talia died, because according to the Bible she didn't. Another Sidenote: I'm going to change the verse on the gravestone to verse 15 which I think I meant but when choosing things was very tired and I messed up. It's also a reminder to me that the only thing waiting on my gravestone is the end date, so make each day count and love people and let them know about the party in Heaven. 

The pictures above for the most part are screen shots from Talia's social media pages. Sidenote: I never meant to take Talia's Facebook page down. I always wanted people to be able to go back and reflect and laugh etc... however I messed up and despite that I thought I did a legacy thing, I guess I ended it. So I left her Instagram alone so at least you can go there. I hope you enjoy and laugh at some of these posts from her. By the way click on the picture rather than view as a whole because it won't show the whole picture. I could have something to say about each picture but I'll let you just enjoy without my commentary. 

Thank you Jesus for coming and making sure those that love you have eternal life! 
Thank you for giving me Talia for a short period of time and Talia, I can't wait "Til I See You"