I was so fortunate to be a recipient of all that she offered to others through her spirit, her vitality, and her strong faith in God.

My mother-in-law, Vee, had known me since I was a teenager dating her son Sam. I stood alongside her in the kitchen as she taught me how to make biscotti and wedding soup, while Frank Sinatra and Perry Como music played in the background. Our daughters, along with 23 other grandchildren and 47 great grandchildren, knew her as Grammy. When our daughter Rosa was diagnosed with cancer, Grammy flew to Florida and took her wig shopping – and they both walked out with wigs that day!

Every holiday was made more special by her colorful and joyful personality and her unique gift of making everyone feel seen, important and valued. There was always room at her kitchen table for unexpected guests and no one ever left hungry. She was a living example of what forgiveness and selfless love look like, and a beautiful reflection of the Jesus that she loved. I am a better human being for knowing her.

I thought about the importance of breath a lot as I watched Vee struggle to capture air in her lungs in those final moments. In Genesis chapter two, it says that “God formed a man’s body from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature, a living soul.” Breath marks our entry into this world, the lack of it marks our exit, and its existence sustains every second in between.

Perhaps you have someone who influenced your life through the love they breathed into you? Maybe it was a teacher who inspired your career choice, a friend who spoke the encouragement you needed at exactly the right time, or a stranger who offered a few kind, calm words that changed the course of your day or life. Maybe it was a mother-in-law like mine who taught you the importance of family, traditions and loving others?

Made from dust, our value is not in the physical and chemical elements that form our bodies, but in the quality of life – the breath – which forms our souls. Our life and worth come from God’s spirit, from God’s breath, and when God removes his life-giving breath, our bodies once again return to dust. As long as you have breath, there is a plan and a purpose for your life on earth. Let us use our breath to benefit others and breathe life and love into everyone around us.

Ephesians 5:2 | Live a life of love, just as Christ loved us. (NIV)

Wanna pray?

God, thank you for the breath of life that you gave to us in the beginning, and the breath you continue to breathe into us through your Holy Spirit. Thank you for the people that you allow to come into our lives who breathe life and love into us along the way, and whose breath carries on through us.