A Long Long Time

A summer of hope and happiness...

This summer has been one that has flown by, but one of many new beginnings and discoveries. Rhiannon is now pregnant with her second child, another beautiful baby boy. She has been blessed with a healthy pregnancy and is due in a little over a month. I know that Bruce and Greyson are eagerly awaiting our joy in the birth of this child. I too have experienced many new things this summer through traveling to Europe. It was a wonderful trip that I could not have asked to be any better. But as I go into my senior year of college, again I am faced with how quickly time has passed and how God does indeed prove himself in the strength he gives us each day. It has been almost 2 years since Bruce left this earth but yet I still hear his laugh, see his smile, and smell the scent of his presence. You have to believe that God gives you these memories to always rejoice in and be thankful for the time you had and have. I have become a different woman in the last two years and have seen the world through different eyes, but each change has made me stronger and hopefully a better person, friend, daughter, and sister.

"You have to take the good with the bad, smile with the sad, love what you’ve got, remember what you had, learn from your mistakes, but never regret, people change, things go wrong, but remember life goes on."

With Love, Ashley

Song of the Day: "Never Saw Blue Like That"

Ryne’s Musings on Grain and Seafood

1^st Confession: Until today, I had never actually gone and read all of Bruce’s old Xanga posts.

2^nd Confession: I still haven’t.

I read for like half an hour and finally decided that if I were going to write anything this evening, I would have to treat his posts like a good novel, put them down, and start reading again later.

But what I read confirmed my suspicions. Bruce was SUCH a special-normal guy. Special because he did the unusual: walked with God in obedience, even when that meant things like getting to know a random 24-year-old in Starbuck’s named Chuck (June 27, ’04 entry). Yet he was normal because he was a fallible human like the rest of us, humble enough to be real and show it, even pleading for prayer on June 1 and August 8.

So Bruce was a human, just like us, and that means we can each live for Christ like he did. We can and should love people as willingly and enthusiastically as he did. Check out this quote from his July 22^nd post, and notice the lack of “I.” Instead, he says “we” and “our:”   

“…those last few breaths of our life we realize that all of the bickering, fighting, arguing, and just plain hating that plauged our life was for nothing. It never made life better. It never blessed anyones day. All it did was cause more pain and more regret. In those last few breaths we also realize how deeply God has blessed us with his love and with the amazing people that made our life worth living. So, naturally, after we realize all of these things, our last words are not filled with loathing or hatred but with love and a certain kind of peace becasue we know that these final moments will be used to tell the people that love us...how much we truly love them.”

Now, living for Christ to the fullest to the rest of us may not mean dressing like a modern hippie, digging the mullet, or pondering the mysteries of life as deeply as Bruce, but surely we can, by the power of the Holy Spirit, trust God enough to love others with the love from above. And surely we can, because of God’s love, love God enough to obey Him and His commands. Loving Him is the greatest command, and He gives all of those who know Him the strength to simply obey, like Bruce, or like the kid in John chapter 6. At least two of Jesus’ disciples didn’t see any way He could feed 5,000 people, but because that one kid gave up his five barley loaves and two fish, the 5,000 were fed. Jesus can do ANYTHING with what we give Him in obedience, just like He used 11 normal guys (minus Judas) to begin spreading His Word through all the earth, and just like He’s used the life of Bruce Gilley to touch so many. We too, with Christ, can fight the good fight, finish the race, and keep the faith.

Friday August 13:

“We make very common choices everyday that will determine the final outcome of our lives, but then there are the ones that are not so common. The choices that not only determine the outcome of our lives, but also define who we are as people. The kind of choices that leave lasting impacts on people and possibly even the world. Day by day God gives us His infallible wisdom on how to best handle these life changing decisions. Now it all comes down to one of those critical choices. Will you listen?” --Bruce

My Brother, My Friend

I watched you grow up from the beginning

I saw you triumph and fall

The world was around you just spinning

And I still hear you call

When our world crashed

I felt cheated and betrayed

You were gone in a flash

Without the last song played

So here is to you, my brother, my friend

I will sing your song in my heart

Though it will not mend

I know that we will not forever be apart

Blessed was our time and our love

Now I must continue to look above

Sorry I didn't post anything on Bruce's Birthday! It was definitely a hard day. You just think he is suppose to be driving off in car today, celebrating being 16, but I know the celebrating both Bruce and Greyson are experiencing now is far better than any birthday we could have on earth! I miss you so much Bruce and Life isn't the same without you, but till we meet agian i'll be thinking of you and smiling because I could call you my brother, my friend! Happy Birthday! I love you!

-Ashley Gilley