This is the update I have prayed that I would never have to send.
At around 8pm tonight (Friday, July 26), Will passed away.
I don't really know what to say. My heart feels like it has been ripped out and my world has stopped. Will is my love and will always be my love. I can't imagine life without him. The beauty and color of life seems to have gone with him.
William, thank you for loving me. Thank you for sharing the last 12 years of life with me. Thank you for marrying me and being my husband. You made my life better; you made me better. I don't know how I will continue breathing without you, but I'm thankful for the love we have that is more beautiful than either of us deserves.
Will lived an amazing 33 years and didn't waste a moment. Everything he did was done with great intentionality and love.
A couple of years ago, we went to a poetry reading. Will chose this poem to share with the group...
Late Fragment
by Raymond Carver
And did you get what
you wanted from this life, even so?
I did.
And what did you want?
To call myself beloved, to feel myself
beloved on the earth.
Will is definitely beloved, by so many people. The love we have been shown has been overwhelming. Thank you all for loving us so well. Thank you for caring about our lives and sharing in them.
GIVE MONEY
21 Comments
Searching for Misery / Longing for Hope | stuck on saturday
June 9, 2014[…] I’ve wanted to be miserable. I’ve wanted my misery to prove God made a mistake in taking Will (my brother-in-law who passed last year at age 33 – Will’s Passing). […]
Derek
August 18, 2013Will makes me want to be a better man. His story has made me look at every breath I take in a different way. What an amazing person he was and what an awsome legacy and story he has left us with.
Nadrian
August 2, 2013Often people quote the scripture Romans 8:28 “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[a] have been called according to his purpose.” but I am convinced that few really understand what it means. I don’t pretend to know God’s mind on this or why such a wonderful man and woman have had their lives changed so drastically, but I what I do know is how much this experience has touched me. I am a complete stranger to you and your husband. However your testimony gave me a clear picture of how we are to love and trust God in all things and in spite of all things. You and your husband’s grace, patience, peace, and love was so evident that it taught me a lesson that I had not learned in over 30 years of walking with Christ. “How to love and trust God completely”. I am sincerely sorry for your loss, but grateful for his life and yours. I am convinced that your husband is rejoicing in heaven with the Lord. My prayers are with you. Nadrian
Lori Trzaska
August 1, 2013Angie there are no words to express how sorry I am for your loss of your beloved Will. I don’t know you… but through my friend Jana I have witnessed the kind of love that is rare to find on this earth that you and Will have had for each other. Will is whole once again with God. I will keep you and your loved ones in my prayers.
Lori
Courage Masuka
July 31, 2013Your loss is our loss, sorry Angie.
Rebecca Burchett Morgan
July 31, 2013“There is nothing that can replace the absence of someone dear to us, and one should not even attempt to do so. One must simply hold out and endure it. At first that sounds very hard, but at the same time it is also a great comfort. For to the extent the emptiness truly remains unfilled one remains connected to the other person through it. It is wrong to say that God fills the emptiness. God in no way fills it but much more leaves it precisely unfilled and thus helps us preserve — even in pain — the authentic relationship. Further more, the more beautiful and full the remembrances, the more difficult the separation. But gratitude transforms the torment of memory into silent joy. One bears what was lovely in the past not as a thorn but as a precious gift deep within, a hidden treasure of which one can always be certain.”
— Dietrich Bonhoeffer
We are with you…
Rebecca
Jen Taylor
July 31, 2013I don’t know you, Angie, but I will be praying for you and your family!! Thank you for posting this.
Terri DeLano
July 31, 2013Dear Angie,
No words can comfort your loss right now… I have to believe Will’s music is already being played in heaven. I don’t have my bible next to me, but there’s a couple of verses that help me get through dark times:
From where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord
Draw near to me and I will draw near to you.
Continue to reach for Jesus… That’s where Will is.
I hope you will be able to continue this blog as a healing place for you as you grieve your loss. We’re all hear for you.
Melody Green, the wife of the former Keith Green wrote a book titled “No Compromise”. I believe those two words define your and Will’s life together.
I will continue to pray.
elizabeth
July 31, 2013angie – i’m a friend of jeff and amy brake’s. i’m so very sorry. praying for you right now.
-elizabeth
Anesha
July 30, 2013Angie my heart hurts for you, I can’t even begin to imagine. I am a friend of Mindi’s and she always had great things to say about Will. I will continue to pray for your strength and I hope that his life may be a testament to others fulfilling their dreams. May his soul rest in peace.
Kathy Carano
July 30, 2013Angie, we don’t need to no one another, I am an acquaintance with Amber and my prayers are now with you. the world hardly knows the meaning of comfort. But offers the best there is to have. When we come to Him in pain and faith, He touches our hearts in tender ways that no human can. Not only does He offer a shoulder to cry on, He uses His people to strengthen and encourage hurting Christian hearts. So sorry for Will’s loss, I will continue to pray for God to bring you His Mercy. Love in Christ Kathy
Joyce
July 30, 2013Angie, you must go out and celebrate LIFE!! You know that this is Will’s wish for you. He never gave up until it was time for God to renew him and bring him home and he wouldn’t want you giving up on life! He will be with you every step of your life until you join again in eternal life and glory with God. Take joy in the reality that Will is now free from a body that would not let him LIVE! Now he will have no pain, no restrictions, no limitations, just simply pure exhilarating JOY! He has not left you and he never will!! My prayers will be for you, now!
Wes
July 30, 2013Angie,
We’ve never met… but I was introduced to Will by Andrew Bryan. Another Union Alum.
Will touched so many lives. Many he probably never even knew. I’ve been monitoring your progress and praying since I first heard of Will’s illness.
I’ve been encouraged by your faith and now pray that God would give you peace and comfort. I lost my father to a terminal illness earlier this year and I know the strange pain that comes mixed with the celebration of a broken body made new.
Philippe Sylvestre
July 30, 2013Will,
Rest in peace.
I’m so sorry that the world lost you.
Angie, I don’t know what to say, other than I am sorry.
You are in our thoughts and prayers.
Take care of yourself.
Philippe
Barb Market
July 30, 2013Angie,
I am so sorry to hear of the passing of your beloved Will. Please know that Will is healed and in the loving arms of Jesus, awaiting your time to join him someday. My heart goes out to you and your family.
Love and prayers,
Barb (Measel) Market
Lindsay
July 30, 2013Angie,
My prayers are with during this most difficult time in your life. There is nothing that I can say to take away your heartbreak. Just know that you were one another’s true loves and soul mates. God has bigger plans for Will that he could not complete on this earth and you will be together again someday.
Love,
Lindsay Measel Klinkerfuss
Kathy Weese
July 30, 2013Angie and family,
My prayers are with you all at this time. Although Will’s home going was too soon, he has left the world a better place for being here. May God be your comfort and stay during this time.
Yours in Christ,
Kathy
Patti Wiley
July 30, 2013Sweet Angie,
We have been praying for you, keeping up with your lives and being blessed by your posts. Today we are aching for you as you grieve the loss of the love of your life. May God give you everything you need as you pass through this stormy time in your life. Feeling blessed to have had our lives cross through the Ohio Wileys.
Love to you,
Patti
Nelson
July 30, 2013Hello. I don’t know you guys, but I have been following your story through Gregg, who stayed with me in China the past few weeks.
I’m very sorry for your loss and just want to give my condolences and say that the Lord is with you. It would’ve been great to meet Will one day but I guess I’ll have to wait ’til I reach heaven to make that meeting happen.
Thank you for your inspirational website.
A few weeks ago, we too, are also trying to save a young girl in China with a nasty disease which could be terminal and now thanks to Gregg sharing your website to us we were able to raise enough money to provide a bone marrow transplant for the girl; she’s currently recovering.
Even through the darkness, I just wanted to share this story with you to encourage you guys and say thank you.
My prayers are with you all.
Ryan Holladay
July 29, 2013“Most people die with the music still in them.”
-Oliver Wendell Holmes
Thank you, Will, for sharing yours while you were here.
Goodbye dear friend.
Rest now.
Veronica
July 29, 2013Angie, I am so sorry to hear this news. It is heartbreaking and my heart and prayers go out to you, your family, and Will’s. A sad day indeed.
Love and light,
Veronica