Monday, February 21, 2011

Briar

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Wow.

Today, a very extraordinary person had his life taken away.

I'm not going to give you all the spiel about  "not taking life for granted" or "living each day to its fullest" because we all realize that.

All I'm going to do is tell you that a great person is watching over all of us right now and I think he deserves a tribute; from someone who didn't know him well, but I didn't need to to write this:

Briar was a great person with a wonderful personality.  He knew how to make people laugh and his smile was contagious.  He took everything lightly and seemed to easily turn a boring situation into a much better one.

In an interview we did in class together, the three words he used to describe himself were "outgoing, a people person, and motivated" and I couldn't agree more.  He was most definitely outgoing, and I'm sure anyone who knew him (or visited Wal Mart) would have the same opinion.  He was obviously motivated if he was able to accomplish being a manager at Wal Mart by the age of 20 and still be able to go to school at the same time.

My dad actually knew Briar before I did and would come home talking about "that kid at Wal Mart who always jokes around with him."  He actually told me he would sometimes just go to Wal Mart to mess with him.  Once I met Briar, I was lucky enough to experience his joking disposition.

Briar's plan was to go to Manhattan Chistian to get his ministry degree.  I know that he would have been such an encouraging voice for people.  His life has impacted many.  I can honestly say I've never met anyone with such an inspiring goal and an already so accomplished life by the age of 20. I can only hope that people learn from him.

In the words of Briar's personal motto, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." 

You will be missed.

Please keep this family in your prayers.  And if you're not into that, at least send them hope.

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2 comments:

  1. I'm really sorry to hear this. :( This post was really touching and I'm glad you wrote it. Even though I didn't know who he was, I really believe in the whole "No man is an island" and "For whom the bell tolls? It tolls for me" concept. It's really beautiful to see someone care about another persons life enough to honor them in a post like this.

    (I feel a little insecure about what I just wrote. I just came by your blog to say thanks for the follow/comments and that edible markers are definitely pretty cool. But once I read this entry, I felt like I needed to write something more serious. I hope it was meaningful, and not weird or awkward.)

    -Rachel

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  2. I just said a prayer and will say one before bed tonight as well. My thoughts and love is with the family. It isn't often we are touched by people who come into our lives for whatever purpose. This post is inspiring- and although it is deeply sad, i thank you for sharing it. xoxo

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