Saying goodbye.........for now

As a writer and songwriter it is rare that I find myself at an utter loss of words. Today is one of those days. Today I am attending the funeral of someone who was incredibly special to me for the last fifteen years. Jake Ryan Crandall was my brother and an amazing friend. He fought through a lot of demons (we all have) sometimes he won and sometimes he lost but he never quit. He was the first to listen to anyone who needed an open ear for as long as they needed it.

He had a sense of humor that always knew the right thing to say to make you laugh, even if at the time you wanted to cry. He knew how it felt to be alone so he made sure no one around him ever was. He knew what it was like to hurt so he did everything in his power to ease the suffering for his friends. And most importantly Jake had a way of making everyone family. Friendship just wasn’t close enough for him and I always loved that. If you look on my facebook you will see he is listed as my brother under family. And that is exactly what he was and what and who he forever will be.

I know I will see him again on the other side but he will be missed more than he could imagine on this earth. He changed so many lives for the better. The last words he said to me were in a message “Love ya sis” like he had so many times before. My heart is broken that this time he was gone before I could say I love you too bro, I love you too! He was loved so much more than he ever knew and I know that now he is experiencing the greatest peace and love and joy of his life in the arms of Jesus! But our hearts are hurting down here.

See you on the flip side Jake and I love you too bro!