Saturday, June 28, 2008

Julie's beauty

Monday morning I will attend my friend Julie Steiskal's funeral. It all seems unreal to me still. I am struggling to sleep and I find myself throughout the day thinking about her and how crappy it is that she is gone, but how cool for her that she has come face to face with her Savior. I wish she could facebook me and tell me all the amazing things about heaven while uploading some of the fabulous pictures I know she would take.

I am amazed at the people Julie has touched in her short 29 years. I just found out that another woman from our church was also friends with her and she knows another man in Northfield that also knew Julie. It's amazing! If you want to see the beauty of Julie, watch this video, it really does capture it.

Here also, is only a snapshot of Julie:

when i was six, i walked into the empty kitchen, looked behind me, stretched my arm as far as i could and borrowed my mother’s camera for the first time. and when i was done with it, i quietly slipped it back on the counter and went back to my book with a smile on my face. today, as then, i find beauty in the eyes of those i love, in the details of God’s creation, in laughter, in light, in wonder.

i like my garden. i like my front porch and my little old house. i like knowing my neighbors and i like crossing my street to get the mail. i like a good book, a movie that makes me laugh, a song that makes me sing. i like food. i like thai restaurants, good pasta and the tacos that come out of my kitchen. i like the smell of the grill on a warm summer night and i like my mother’s cheesecake. i like the water. i like the smell of rain, the sound of a creek, the infinite possibility of a lake and the dampness of dew. i like falling asleep and waking up to thunderstorms. i like the sound of my nephew’s giggle and the feel of his brother’s hand in mine. i like that my family includes some of my best friends.

my life is both simple and complicated. it is a peaceful spring morning, it is a commute surrounded by people i don’t know. it is finding the quiet in the chaos, it is knowing how to be alone in a crowd.

i think you, your child, your dreams are beautiful. i know that time is quickly passing. i want to help you capture the moments of your life that you never want to forget.

this is what i bring. this is who i am.

-Julie Steiskal

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