Remembering Julie.

"Love is stronger than death even though it can't stop death from happening, but no matter how hard death tries it can't separate people from love. It can't take away our memories either. In the end, life is stronger than death."

--Unknown

This past week, a wonderful young lady named Julie Keen was tragically killed in car accident. I had the privilege of knowing Julie personally for a good portion of my life. We attended elementary school together, as well as part of high school.

In elementary school, the memories are countless. Sleepovers at each others houses were plenty, and the silliness that always ensued was never-ending. There was the time when we thought it smart to eat an entire jar of pickles together and then jump on her trampoline. This resulted in us both getting sick to our stomachs, and yet still laughing hysterically at our idiocy. Then there was the time that we had a singing competition with two other girls, Gina Scholl and Jessica McGhee. However, we were all so nervous that the pairs hid behind a door to sing while the other two strained to hear. And of course, there was the "alarm clock" episode, when Julie and I thought it would be funny to play a prank on my sister and set up an alarm clock to wake her up at three in the morning. Of course, this infuriated my usually peaceful sister to the point of her hurling the alarm clock across the room at us. It hit me in the face, and although it hurt and I had a bruise for a week, Julie laughed so hard she was crying.

Julie was the type of friend that laughed with you, listened to you, hugged you, and loved you, asking for and expecting nothing in return. Our's was an easy friendship. I honestly do not recall ever having an argument with her. Something about us just clicked. It was simple. We didn't need to be clingy with each other to know that we were great friends. We could just be.

Julie and I shared many of the harder moments in our life. She was always there to listen to me, and let me cry, offer advice, and hugs. I hope I was as good to her as she was to me. Although we fell out of touch after high school, I will never forget how amazing of a friend she was...how true her friendship was. My life was touched by Julie. I learned a lot about friendship, about family, and about laughter from her. The memories will live on, as will the love that surrounds Julie Keen.

My heart goes out to the Keen family, and I pray for their strength and serenity in this difficult time. Julie will surely live on for a long time to come through her friends, her family, and the laugh that we could never forget.

"Perhaps they are not stars, but rather openings in heaven where the love of our lost ones pours through and shines down upon us to let us know they are happy."
--Eskimo Proverb