Remebering...

This idea was inspired by a blog I read pretty regularly. Here's my story:

There is a guy Jeff that I met during my first year of high school. He was friends with everybody.He was one of those people that was always happy and joking around. In high school he dated and eventually married a girl Kelli who was just as happy and outgoing as he was. They had two kids and moved near Ocean City, Md. He was on dialysis for kidney problems. He died in a car accident a few months ago. Him and his younger brother were both in the car and they both passed away, Jon instantly and Jeff a week later. The funeral was one of the most heartbreaking experiences you can imagine. The pastor told a story that I will never forgot. I will sum it up for you (not in his exact words but close enough):

There is a church in the center of Crofton, the town we grew up in. One day Jeff went into the church and said to the pastor " all of my life I have heard the bells of this church ring daily. I noticed I haven't heard them recently and was wondering why". The pastor told him the bells needed to be repaired but were so old that the pieces weren't made anymore and they just didn't have enough money to replace them. "Is that it? Money is the only thing from keeping those bells from ringing?" Jeff said. He left the church and came back a week later with a handful of money and told the pastor that was just the first donation. Within three weeks he had raised enough money for the church to get the bells fixed. He had a son Jeff Jr. who is now five. They were outside playing one day and Jeff Jr. heard the church bells ringing and he said "my daddy makes those bells ring!" It was such a beautiful story, to think everytime his kids hear those bells they will be reminded of their father.

We live right by a church whose bells ring every hour and everytime I hear it I think of Jeff and his family. It reminds me to lighten up, to be grateful for what I have and when I think I am having a really shitty day it is not that bad. I think of him and his family everyday. He will be greatly missed by many, many people.