I'm thinking of my beautiful friend Briana. Her memorial service is in Simi Valley today and I am here in Reno. The pains of being poor.
My heart is there, I wish the rest of me could be.
I did attend an open house in her honor at her home in Roseville on Wednesday. It hit me when I walked in and saw her family, and then hugs caused me to be fighting tears for the next hour. I seemed to be the only one who could not control my watery eyes. It was packed with those who loved her and it was a happy atmosphere, just as she would have wanted it I'm sure.
Her family are the kindest people. I wanted to cry when I looked at them, for their heartache and for the months and years ahead of them without Briana. Looking at her children and thinking of my own and the pain that only the Lord can calm. Yet I watched as her husband Eric and her mother Teri happily accommodated every single person there. They were so attentive and caring to everyone. They are always so welcoming and kind. And I was wondering what they must be going through, they had to be completely exhausted by the end of the night. How they are strong enough to step outside of their own pain and serve everyone else is amazing to me.
But at the same time, of course, these are the people she loved and chose because she was the same way. I've never met a person who did not love her. She left a happy stamp on the heart of everyone she knew.
I'm not really a believer of glorifying people just because they died, trying to make them better than they were. I think you should love them and think of them the same living or not. In this case every good thing you could hear about Briana is true. She really was one of the very best people I will ever know.
I've know her since the third grade and I cannot think of even one time that we ever argued. She was so happy and energetic and always so positive and passionate about life. She was so kind and always sticking up for what was right. She had a way of making you feel loved and important. She could always remember what was going on in your life. Always helping someone else. Her laugh always made me laugh. When we were younger I remember laughing till we cried was a common thing. She held my hair when I threw up (a true friend ha) and a hundred other memories with her, we never ran out of things to talk about. She was so talented in every way. It seems like she was good at whatever she tried. She always had such a strong spirit. She was such a strong person. I know she was a good wife and every time I talked to her she talked about how much she loved Eric and how good he was to her. And the way she talked about her four kids made you love them too. I saw her son standing alone staring at a picture of her, can't really put words to that emotion. His mother was one of kind. I know she will be his angel. Knowing her she will be an angel to as many people as she possibly can. Ha! After what she accomplished on this earth the thought of what that girl can do on the other side makes me smile. Her example will continue to affect every person she knew here. I loved her unwavering testimony in her Savior. She knew what this life was about and had an amazing amount of faith, it is such a comfort to know where she is, she is home and I will see her again. I know that she will have an eternal family. I love knowing that all the things I love about her she still has, she is the same strong spirit that I was lucky enough to call my friend.
It was a blessing in my life to know her and I will love her forever.
