January Memories, Part III, It Must Be Told

Exactly one week ago.....

It is difficult to write about a major event six years later. I can partially remember the depth of sadness I experienced, but not fully. Photos and journal entries remind me of that tumultuous time, but so many things have changed since that wretched date, six years ago today. 

The day started so brightly that January 29, exactly the same day of the week six years ago. A Friday. A day that forever changed my life. Again.

 In 2006, I’d said farewell to the husband of my youth. The father of my children. I made a new covenant with another man, in 2008. I took his last name, Graybill. My husband Blair and I combined our family. His kids were mine and my kids were his. He had no grandchildren, so it was easy for him to adopt mine. But I digress. On that fateful Friday evening, Blair Graybill lost consciousness and never again regained it. He died, Sunday, January 31, 2010. There’s much I could say about him. Blair loved his God, he loved life, his sons, and my children and grandchildren. And he loved me. 

That time seems like another life, for it is. Yet the marriage that was only 17 months in length, taught me many things. Primarily, it taught me that I could love again. And love Blair I did. I have wonderful memories that I cherish. 

What I remember the most about those terrible days in January and beyond is how amazingly close my Savior and Comforter, Jesus was during that time of mourning and loss. 

Incredibly, God performed another miracle when He brought Jim into my life nearly four years later. I was warned I’d already had a Cinderella-like experience already after meeting and marrying my second husband, and was told it most likely wouldn’t happen again. But it did! And that’s what makes the story so wonderful. 

Jim and I are reading a devotional called The One Year Book of Psalms, 365 Inspirational Readings. This morning’s reading was excellent in describing our experience:

You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing.

You have taken away my clothes of mourning and 

clothed me with joy,

that I might sing praises to you and not be silent.

O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever!

So on this day, February 5, six years ago on 2010, the day we laid to rest Henry Blair Graybill II, I am remembering what I had with Blair. Thankful for the extra family members who call me Mama Shirley and Grammie. And we know this is not the end. Eternity will be the beginning. 

Walla Walla, Washington