David Phillips
It is a unique and wonderful thing to have a friend who also happens to be your sibling. Janelle and I had our ups and downs through the years, but we were as close as we had ever been at the time of her passing. I called her "our miracle," and our own prodigal who came home. Unlike the brother in Luke 15:25-32, who was angry that his dad was throwing a party, I was as happy and proud for her as anybody else. If anyone needed proof of the existence of God, they needed to look no further than Janelle; if you knew where she had been, and how far she had come, you'd understand why I say that, and I think you would agree.
I was thankful that she allowed me to have a major part in her son's life, and watch her "train up a child in the way he should go." She instilled in Vrixton a love and a thirst for learning, and shared with him her love for music and art. She was a wonderful caregiver for my parents, and for Vrixton. She was the "lady of the house" and served her role gladly with love and kindness.
Most of all, she exuded the attributes of the Proverbs 31 woman, and despite her situation, she really showed herself to be the cream of the crop. One could not ask for a better daughter or sister. She was one who "redeemed the time," as Paul said, and one can see the evidence of that in many areas. Most, if not all, of my memories of her are good ones, and I can look back on her life and smile. I will miss her hugs, her phone calls just to see how Debbie and I were doing, and I'll really miss her absolutely fabulous cooking. But I'll also miss the fact that she was a loving and caring individual, and the reason she did what she did was because she loved and cared so much. She touched the lives of many people throughout the years, and I am happy to say that my life was one of them. She was a blessing to me, and a gift from God.
I think my memories of Janelle, and our relationship, could be encapsulated in the saying on a pillow she gave me a few years ago. The saying was this:
"I smile because you are my brother;
I laugh because there's nothing you can do about it."
I smile because she was my sister. I laugh over the years of treasured memories she left behind. I am awestruck at the woman she became in spite of the obstacles and difficulties she faced. And I thank God that He allowed me to be her brother, the brother of someone who made the most of every second of her life, and who was loved by so many people. It was certainly an honor and pleasure, as well as a great blessing, to be her brother for almost 41 years.
Goodbye, Sweet Child; I'll see you on the other side.
