The Women Who Teach Us How to Love
There are women God places in our lives who become more than relatives.
They become examples.
Examples of faith.
Examples of resilience.
Examples of kindness.
Examples of what it looks like to love people deeply while still standing firm in truth.
My Great Aunt Rosie was one of those women.
She was my godmother.
The woman I was named after.
The woman who took me to see the ocean.
The woman who never forgot me at Christmas.
The woman who made people feel like they mattered.
And now that my own relationship with God has become deeper and more personal than ever before, I find myself wishing I could sit across from her one more time and tell her:
I understand now.
I understand the faith.
I understand the softness.
I understand why she cared so deeply about people.
I understand why she fought for what she believed in while still leading with love.
And somehow, I believe she already knows.
God Finds Us in Different Seasons
I have always believed in God.
But there is a difference between believing in God and allowing Him to transform you.
Recently, it feels like God found me in the middle of my own healing.
Not when life was easy.
Not when everything made sense.
But when I was searching for truth, trying to understand suffering, relationships, purpose, forgiveness, and what it truly means to walk in faith.
Psalm 34:18 says:
“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”
The older I get, the more I realize that some people quietly plant seeds inside us long before we are ready for them to grow.
Aunt Rosie planted those seeds through the way she lived.
Not perfectly.
But faithfully.
The Kind of Woman People Remember
As I looked back through old memories, photos, and posts, I noticed something beautiful:
She always pointed people back toward hope.
Toward prayer.
Toward gratitude.
Toward healing.
Toward God.
One of her posts simply said:
“With God all things are possible.”
Another said:
“Prayer changes things.”
And another reminded people:
“One should count their blessings, prayers are answered.”
That was who she was.
Even in grief, she looked for light.
Even in pain, she prayed.
Even in loneliness, she chose love.
Romans 12:12 says:
“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”
And that is the way she lived her life.
The Ocean, the Mountains, and the Way Love Lingers
One of the greatest gifts she ever gave me was my first road trip to Florida.
She took me to see the ocean for the first time.
As a child, I did not realize moments like that become part of your soul forever.
Now, when I think about the ocean, mountains, sunlight through trees, or the quiet stillness of nature, I think about her.
I smile knowing how deeply she loved the mountains of Colorado and places like Estes Park and Sprague Lake. Suddenly, the pull I have always felt toward the mountains makes sense in a way I cannot fully explain.
Maybe love leaves pieces of itself behind inside the people it touches.
Maybe that is why I feel her when I see an eagle overhead.
A rose blooming unexpectedly.
A shamrock.
A rainbow after rain.
Or the sudden urge to leave behind the noise of the world and breathe somewhere closer to God.
Ecclesiastes 3:11 says:
“He has made everything beautiful in its time.”
Some connections are too deep to fully put into words.
Rosie’s Unwritten Rules
One of the most beautiful things our family shared after her passing was a list titled Rosie’s Unwritten Rules.
And honestly, it felt less like a list and more like a roadmap for living a meaningful life.
“Get outside.”
“Have a cup of coffee: sit awhile and visit.”
“Sharing is caring.”
“Turn some lights on.”
“A little piece of chocolate never hurts.”
Simple things.
Human things.
Holy things.
But the one that stays with me most is this:
“Family isn’t always defined by blood or who gave birth to you. Anyone who becomes family is wrapped in love and forgiveness.”
That was Aunt Rosie.
She loved people fully.
Not based on status.
Not based on perfection.
Not based on what they could offer her.
She simply believed people mattered.
1 Peter 4:8 says:
“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.”
I think heaven looks a lot like people loving each other that way.
The Legacy I Hope to Leave
As I get older, success matters less to me than impact.
Did people feel safe with me?
Did they feel loved?
Did they feel seen?
Did I leave the room lighter than I found it?
Because when people talk about Aunt Rosie, that is what they remember.
Her joy.
Her kindness.
Her faith.
Her warmth.
Her strength.
Her ability to make people feel important.
One day, I want to sit around my home with the people I love and know I loved them the way she loved people.
Not halfway.
Not only when it was convenient.
But fully.
Galatians 5:22–23 says:
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”
When I think of Aunt Rosie, I think of fruit that continued growing long after the seeds were planted.
That is legacy.
Love That Still Speaks
There is a quote that says grief is just love with nowhere to go.
But I do not think that is completely true.
I think love keeps going.
Into the people we become.
Into the lessons we carry forward.
Into the prayers we whisper.
Into the kindness we show others because someone once showed it to us.
And maybe that is why, even now, I still feel connected to her.
Not through sadness alone.
But through faith.
Through memory.
Through love.
Through God.
Hebrews 13:8 says:
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”
Love rooted in God does not disappear.
It multiplies.
I Am Affirmations
I am shaped by love, faith, and the people who helped guide my soul.
I am becoming the kind of person who brings light into dark places.
I am deeply connected to God through healing, truth, and grace.
I am carrying forward a legacy of compassion and kindness.
I am learning to love people fully and intentionally.
I am grateful for every person who helped me become who I am today.
I am never truly separated from love rooted in God.
Prayer
God,
Thank You for the people whose lives become part of our foundation.
Thank You for Aunt Rosie — for her faith, her kindness, her laughter, her strength, and the way she loved others so naturally. Thank You for every memory, every lesson, every road trip, every prayer, and every reminder that small acts of love can shape generations.
Thank You for the ways You continue speaking through memory, nature, healing, and the people who brought us closer to You.
Help me carry forward the good she poured into this world. Help me love people deeply, create spaces where others feel safe and seen, and continue becoming someone who reflects Your light.
When life feels heavy, remind me to trust You.
When grief rises, remind me that love still remains.
And when I wonder if the people we miss still matter in our lives, remind me that love rooted in You never dies.
Amen.
Closing
Some people leave behind photographs.
Some leave behind stories.
But the rare ones leave behind a way of living that continues changing people long after they are gone.
I think Aunt Rosie was one of those people.
And maybe that is why certain things still feel sacred to me now — mountains, prayer, coffee around a table, eagles in the sky, roses in bloom, laughter echoing through a room, and the quiet feeling that God is always closer than we think.
Maybe the people who loved us well help teach us how to recognize Him.
In solidarity,
Lyndsay Rose LaBrier
The Merchant Ship Collective