goodbye nicole

Last Thursday, as you may have read, I attended the Memorial Service of my friend Nicole Laube who was murdered on August 19th. Prior to attending the service I was quite nervous for many reasons. I wasn't sure how I would feel and act, and I hadn't stepped foot inside a church in quite a while. I knew that there would be a lot of praying and singing, and sometimes being in the presence of hundreds of others doing that can make me slightly uncomfortable. Well, I have driven by Southwest Bible Church a billion times and never really knew how big it was until I walked in. Over a 1,000 people attended Nicole's Memorial Service, most of them were family, friends, and acquaintances, but there were also those who heard of her death on the news and felt compelled to come and pay their respects. The media was there as well recording the service.

Mondo turns out couldn't come, I think the whole situation was a little too much for him to handle and so he stayed home with his partner for comfort. Connie and I found a spot among the masses to sit and watch a video montage of home recordings of Nicole and her family through the years of her growing up. We laughed at some, cried at some, smiled at others. Once the church filled up the family made their entrance through a side door and I finally couldn't hold it in anymore. Seeing her family made it so real at that very moment, my friend really is gone. The service began with a prayer which I found oddly comforting but also quite emotional. We than stood up as the band played four songs which many people joined in on singing along. Several family friends took turns sharing stories of Nicole's life, her best friend gave an emotional testament of Nicole and how strong she was, and then her parents took their turn followed by her husband. Because the service was taking place on what would have been Chris and Nicole's 4th Wedding Anniversary, he shared with us the gift that would have been presented to her. It was a memory book of photos that he had put into video with music. It was beautiful. We then ended the service with another message, prayer, and two more songs. In all it took 3 hours, probably the longest service I had ever attended.

As emotional as you can imagine this was, we laughed quite a bit. The stories we heard of Nicole as a child were incredible. The battles she had fought growing up for her life, three of them, and survived stronger each time are miracles. She never wavered, she always smiled and remained positive. People like Nicole are rare, what a gift she was. I left the service wishing I had known more about her before her death. That we had made those plans to get together again. I can sit here and wish for something that will never come to be, but instead I will be grateful for the time I did have and the memories I will always have. It is sad it takes a loss for you to remember how precious life is, and how short it can be for some. I have been making an effort to reconnect and spend time with friends whom I haven't seen or heard from in a while. I don't want to ever regret not having made time for someone I care about. I urge you to do the same.