Vickie's Memorial

I found out about a week ago that there was going to be a memorial for Vickie Altman, Kyler's teacher from Sacramento, in Portland on February 4. I was really sad I wasn't able to make it to the memorial service held at our church in Sacramento so when I heard about this one, I wanted to go. Portland is about four hours away and I have a sister who lives there so I knew we could make a weekend trip out of it.

We left after church Saturday morning and drove straight to the memorial service. We didn't know very many people there, but we found a place to sit as the service was starting. The majority of the people there knew Vickie from many years ago when she used to work in Portland. I'm not saying they weren't sad or weren't grieving her loss, but their memories of her were more distant than mine. I was one of very few people who was sobbing throughout the whole service. I felt kind of foolish; like everyone was looking at me. But my sorrow runs very deep and she was part of our lives so recently. It still doesn't feel real that she is gone... :(

At the end of the service, they opened up the microphone for anyone who wanted to share a memory of Vickie. Greg got up and told everyone about Kyler's last day of school in December when the whole class prayed over him, including the little boy whose parents didn't believe in God. And, he told them about Vickie and the other kids conspiring to make sure Kyler was the student teacher of the day on his last day. Those memories are so special for us and we wanted her family to hear them.

When everyone was done sharing, Greg and I had an opportunity to talk to Vickie's daughter and tell her how much we loved Vickie and how much we miss her. She has heard that a lot lately because everyone who encountered Vickie was touched by her in some way or another. She impacted so many lives and I am so sad she is gone. I pray her light shines in all those who knew her so that we can continue to love others the way she loved each of us. I can't wait for the glorious day when we will all meet again in Heaven! We miss you Vickie! 

My last picture of Vickie:
with Kyler on his last day of school before we moved