Beautiful Life

It's officially been thirteen years since my dad passed away! It's unreal to me to think that it's been that long. Sometimes it seems like it just happened yesterday and other days it feels like it's been twenty years. At this point my dad has been physically present for half of my life. I use the word physically because I know he's always with me and still guides so much of what I do in my life. It still makes me sad to think that everyday after today he will have been gone from my life longer than he was in it.

What an incredible life he lived though! I still have people come up and ask me if I was Pat King's daughter. To still have people asking about you and talking about you thirteen years later really says something about the mark you left behind. He touched so many lives with his wonderful sense of humor, kindness, peace, and deep faith. I remember Brigid saying once that she has learned more in the years since my dad's death than when he was alive, and I tend to feel the same way. He taught me more about life in thirteen years than some people's fathers teach them in a lifetime. From my dad I learned to kill people with kindness and turn the other cheek. I learned to give back to those less fortunate than I am and thank God everyday for the things he has blessed me with. I try to see Jesus in everyone because I know my dad always did. I learned how to play the most amazing pranks on people :). The biggest thing I learned though is that life is a precious and beautiful gift and we should enjoy every minute of it, because you never truly know how long it will last!

In the thirteen years since my dad has been gone, my mom has done an unbelievable job of being both a mother and a father. God couldn't have put anyone in my life more incredible than my mom! She is the most kind and patient person I know, and so funny :)!! She truly has a heart of gold and would do anything to help someone in need. So much of the goodness in me I learned from watching her! I can remember being little and coloring in a St. Joan of Arc coloring book. I never knew much about St. Joan of Arc but as I colored the pages in that book I also read about her life. At the time I can remember thinking how cool it was that my mom was named after her. She was such a brave and amazing woman. Now I think about how much that name suites my mom. There is no one in this world braver than she is or more beautiful (inside and out). Sometimes I just look at her and I can't stand how cute she is! I just think the absolute WORLD of her and I know I definitely don't deserve her! So, although God took my dad from me at a young age he had a plan, and he knew my mom would me able to do it on her own. She has not only done it on her own, but she's done an incredible job raising Emily, Theresa, and I. Thank you mom for the unconditional love and support you give all three of us! I know I don't say it nearly enough! I love you!!!

I am so grateful for my beautiful life! I hope to touch half of the lives I know my parents have!

Thank you God for the gift of an amazing father for thirteen years and for the gift of a mother I'll have for fifty more :)!

I want to leave you with one of my dad's favorite bible verses:

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal. But store up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be." Matthew 6:19-23

"God saw you getting tired, and a cure was not to be. So he put his arms around you, and whispered, "Come with me." With tearful eyes we watched you, and saw you pass away. Although we loved you dearly, we could not make you stay. A golden heart stopped beating. Hard working hands at rest. God broke our hearts, to prove to us, He only takes the best."