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It’s been nearly 2 months since I have sat down at this computer. I have to be honest, I’ve avoided it like the plague. I didn’t feel I had the words to do justice to the experiences we have had this summer with love, and with loss. I don’t think I have the words even now, but I feel compelled to write.

On June 5th, our rad little cousin, Lindsey, graduated from High School in Salem, Oregon. The door way to adulthood had just swung open and life was waiting for her to jump in. This spunky, sassy, smart, compassionate, determined, loving, funny, beautiful young woman had big plans. She was going to serve a mission for our CHURCH, and she was ready. When asked where she wanted to go, she said she didn’t care because she was willing to go anywhere God sent her.

That was Lindsey.

She would move mountains.

On June 7th, just two days after graduation, Linds was in a terrible accident. She lay in coma for days as doctors tried to regulate the swelling in her brain.

On June 13th, the pressure on her brain became too much to sustain life and Lindsey’s spirit returned home to our Father in Heaven.

Ten years ago, a little girl left this life and in the process 7 people lived…including Lindsey’s baby brother. Lives were changed forever, including Lindsey’s.

On June 22nd, we celebrated the life of our Lindsey Lou, knowing that 5 people were given a new chance because of one amazing girl’s generosity. Life had come full circle.

As I sat there in her high school gym, I was overcome by the love that enveloped me. It was standing room only, and every single person around me was there because one feisty 18 year old girl had made them better. Lindsey had inspired. She had lifted, served, loved, laughed, and encouraged. She was a cheerleader on and off the field. People rose to the occasion because something in her made them want to try harder.

SHE UNDERSTOOD WHO SHE WAS AND WHOSE SHE WAS.

It was in those few brief hours, as Lindsey’s legacy was spoken and sung, something amazing happened. The room was filled with the spirit of God. It was unmistakable as we looked around at the faces of those who loved her. In that moment, it was clear… Lindsey’s life was a mission.

She did, and will continue to, move mountains.

Lindsey’s Hill

I will miss her selfies and our late night Pinterest giggles. I will miss the bright eyed Oregon girl who made me feel like I was still part of the family even though I was two states away. I cherish the memories of her chasing my girls and reading books to them on their bed. I laugh out loud when I remember her massive teenage eye roll at Cowboy Poetry. I will miss…her.

I want to be the kind of person that she was. That she is.

I hope that my husband and I can raise our children to love, laugh, and inspire like their cousin.

So that they can learn to move mountains, too.

Just a few days after returning home, I was on my way to another funeral.

This time for a darling little sunshine boy…