“ODE TO BRIAN”
From Mom
It does not seem like two years,
Since you’ve been gone away,
As each day dawns and I open my eyes,
It feels like only yesterday.
No matter how hard I try
The tears still flood my eyes,
Until the day God reunites us,
And there will be no more goodbyes.
You and Tommy were so close,
The epitome of two loving brothers.
You had those special confidences,
That you shared only with one another.
Your Dad still experiences deeply
The loss only a father can feel.
Yet he also realizes,
This is a grief only God can heal.
One day with my head on your knees,
Shedding tears I could not fight,
You stroked my head tenderly and said,
“Don’t worry about me, Mama, I’ll be alright.”
I often remember the Caribbean cruise
We embarked on in 2003,
I thank God for that blessed time,
As we sailed on “Voyager of the Sea”.
Oh, how I miss you, Brian
With a pain deep down inside,
Some say I need to let it go,
So I keep quiet and in Christ I hide.
Life is not the same for us now,
Your Dad, Tommy, and me,
Once four of us were at Sunday’s dinner table,
Now there are only three.
We are so proud of the life you lived,
As a Christian doing your part,
I believe that much like King David,
You were a man after God’s own heart.
Although you are no longer here,
We cannot see you with our eyes,
You still love us as we love you,
Because love never fails and never dies.
Oh that we could have kept you here,
But God wanted you in heaven,
His number of completion all around you,
God’s perfect number seven.
So rejoice completely in the Lord, sweet prince,
Total bliss you now have in that place,
Because now you are in the celestial city,
With our Lord Jesus, face to face.
I can actually recall the very first day I saw Brian walk down the aisle of the the old Bethel Temple sanctuary. At that time I didn't realize he was Tommy's baby brother (he looked like another friend of mine). Since that day there have been so many precious memories it would be impossible to enumerate them all. Let's see...movies...I'll never get over the time I watched Hamlet (starring Mel Gibson) with him and Brian said every single line in the entire movie along with all of the actors. It was the most incredible thing I'd ever seen in my life, but then again, that was Brian - incredible. Food...I can still taste his firey hot wings that roasted your mouth but always left you wanting more. Music...we were always privy to his opinion about the quality of the music we were listening to and he had a ear for what was really good (or really bad!) Comedy...Brian's uncanny knack for imitating people was always the source of a chuckle. I can especially recall him imitating
Odessa and how he had us in tears laughing. Friendship...I had to have major surgery one Christmas and my family had to come to Virginia to take care of me.
They weren't going to be able to have a real Christmas, so Brian, Tommy and
Cheryl Ellis got together and brought us a Christmas meal with all of the trimmings.
You know I could just go on and on.
From time to time I'll see an episode of Friends or a clip from Seinfeld and just
think of Brian and smile. I think of the choir trips and the road trip to Cedar Point, the parties and game nights at the Hauser's, Bethel Temple, Liberty Chapel, and
Calvary Revival Church...twenty years or so of living with Brian being a part of it...he's in the fabric of my life.
It was a blessing to know him. His humor, his committment, his perseverance,
his love of the lord, of people, and of life will never ever be forgotten. Thank you
God for the time we got to share him with you. I'm sure we're all better because of it!
Although I came into the "fun, party night, games" gang a little later, I must say it has been a hoot! Brian was always the quick witted guy with all of the right answers. He must have been a genius student. The other day, while deleting all of my thousands of emails, I came across one that Brian sent to me about him not being able to leave work soon enough to go out with us. He stated - you all go ahead without me, and have fun. Now when we get together I miss Brian so much - it seems like he should be here with us. However, I know that God wanted him more. So in Brian's memory, here goes a poem -
Hey Brian - how's it up there?
You singing all day
in the heavenly choir.
I sure do miss you down here-
No one to pick with about grants
You were so resourceful
Never a grouch or frown - but always a laugh!
You told us to go ahead that day
But Brian - You didn't share your plan.
You were busy preparing to meet Jesus
in the heavenly land.
Okay - so we'll keep going -
We will carry on.
But we still miss you
Laughing, praying and singing your songs.
We will take care of Tommy
as best as we can.
But you know him better than we do-
He can be a debatable man!
We'll keep Mom and Dad laughing
But you - we can never replace.
We look forward to joining you-
Singing and seeing Jesus face to face.
With Love on this Day of Loving,
Marian
Brian was one of the most wonderful hearts that ever walked this earth. Although his voice was certainly beautiful, his kindness and compassion, steadfastness and quiet strength are the traits I most loved about him. These are the things that make me sad, in my own selfishness, that he is not on this earth. -Happy for him and his eternal joy and health, but still, sad not to see his consistently accepting and loving smile, and to hear his soft-spoken, kind greetings. I know our entire Body feels the void of his absence. ...This earth was surely a better place when he was in it.
