For just a minute I want you to think of the world in “sprinkles”. Looking around, there are manysprinkles. We might think about donuts first and cupcakes. Snow is a sprinkle. These sprinkles are allvisable and tangible. We can see them and touch them. God sends sprinkles to lightly send usmessages to and about each other to help us through life. Think about it for just a minute.When we read about the six days when God made the earth, we are taught that he made the sun and theearth and the rain and all of us. According to the Baltimore caticiziam, “God made us to know Him,Love Him and serve Him in this world and the next”. There was nothing in there about worldly things,money or being better than the next person.I met Gloria when I was 13 years old, just about the time I met Bruce. I have known and loved them both about the same amount of time....about 46 years. If it is ok, I would like to share a few storieswith you. A few things that I share need to stay just in this room.Gloria was fascinating to me, How could someone so warm and sweet and loving be so direct,opinionated, and ... should I say feisty???? and get away with it?Honesty was her key. I decided that Gloria was “right up front”. She never wasted time with all thefrills, dancing around the issues, or pretending about anything that you did or said around her. She was pretty direct about how she felt about it. How could an “orphan” know right from wrong? Know howto live life with “golden love”? Know God without any formal teaching or even going to church?The three girls, Aunt Jerry, Aunt Dot, and Gloria were one together. They were so much alike thatoften they couldn't get along. Our God given human nature makes us need. Need to strive,accomplish, and servervive. The differences that the three of them had, I believe were because theywere fighting for the same validation of the MOST IMPORTANT THINGS IN LIFE TO EACH OFTHEM. They did not know about mothers love, family, or security that most of us take for granted.Gloria used to say to me, very often, “ I was up all night and I finally figured it out”....what ever was troubling her, she thought about it and thought about it and “worked on it” until some of us were about to scream. You see we all had the luxury of being taught right from wrong... we weregiven love, siblings, parents, home, & family.Usually the things that we don't have and have to work for, are the things that mean the most to us.Again.... we need to strive, accomplish, and survive. God choose Gloria's life for her to give her theopportunity to “Know Him, Love Him and Serve Him” and she did it well.God gave us all many gifts, and the “greatest gift is love”. Anyone who knew her could feel the loveradiate from her. Just a few days ago, Gloria was in her wheelchair in the hall at St. Josephs and wasreaching out and holding the hands of a few residents there with her....just touching them....lovingthem. Gloria told me it is important to touch people, even if you don't say anything. Just touch...touching was “Gloria's sprinkles”. How did she know to do that? What Book did she read to learnthat? Who taught her? Simply, she listened to her heart. She listened to her heart.Gloria always mentioned her mother with such love, even though she didn't know her or remember her.She wondered if there really was a heaven and if she would ever see her mother. It is fitting thataround her neck, Gloria wore a gold chain with a gold heart on it her entire life. The heart belonged toher mother. It was her worldly sign that she should listen to her heart. She didn't need to go to churchto have great faith. She loved purely and genuinely.I loved her... I love her. When Bruce and I were dating, I often would stop at the house and just sit andtalk to Gloria. I loved her humor and light heartness...she always made me laugh. Gloria mothered me.She taught me so many of life's lessons. Some that I could never come close to doing as well as her.Gloria was the best cook... “How did she know how to cook so well?”... she took time to teach Angelaand I many things in the kitchen. Patiently...lovingly. Gloria used to say, “ This meat is beautiful.What a beautiful broccoli! Gloria was way before her time....the food network is just now recognizinghow beautiful food is. She was the best mother in law ever.Bruce and I dated about 6 years before we got married and during those years, we broke up a fewtimes. I told Bruce that I had to love him, I had to marry him, because I loved his mother so much.
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