Today, December 29, would have been my 25th wedding anniversary with Jill—a very brutal yet beautiful day for me and our family.

She passed away nine weeks ago from brain cancer.

Here’s a short thread to honor her.

How it started:

How it was going, before cancer:

Then our lives changed course forever when she was diagnosed with a huge brain tumor in 2017. Here’s a pic of her the morning of her surgery, with a giant YES marking the side of the brain where the tumor resection was to occur. (I guess this practice minimizes mistakes.)

It feels a little odd to remember Jill in the “cancer phase” of her life, but honoring her today also means thinking about all she endured and the crazy sweep of 25 years of marriage and 30 years together. She was such a brave, courageous and faith-filled woman all through.

Her sense of humor was remarkable, too. It lit up our best days and helped us to endure the tough ones as well.

Her love for Jesus and her love for family were her most defining characteristics. She came to Christ as a teen, was devoted to missions work and to church.

And she spent her life loving and nurturing our three children. They are cool humans because of her investments in them.

Funny memory for me: Because of Jill’s industriousness, she often had a hard time staying awake when sitting down for any extended time, like during movies and sermons...

So, the kids and I often did a little tally in church that we called the Sleepytime Scoreboard. Jill could typically out-cat-nap any other person in the congregation who appeared to be battling to stay awake.

She was always a good sport about our shenanigans.

Regarding her legendary work ethic, she hated sitting down to watch a full movie. “I’ll watch the first 20 minutes and last 20 minutes. I can pick up what happened in between.”

She was a busy .

Buzz buzz.

In the last 3 years we made a lot of good memories, including epic trips to the UK, Norway, Australia, New Zealand. I’m very grateful for medical professionals, medicine, the Lord’s grace, and my wife’s courage to battle back. Those things gave us more time together.

My grief has seemed insurmountable at times, but it’s also quietly comforting to know it’s equal to how much I loved this incredible woman. That God himself has wired us to love this much and to endure such loss is a peace that passes understanding.

Today, I remember all that Love gave to me and the gift of life—of Jill’s life.

I’ll see you soon, my beloved.

Oh, and how it’s going: my kids and me about a month ago.

Tonight, the four of us are planning to eat from one of Jill’s favorite places and have a LEGO building night.

Jill wouldn’t have sat down long to help, but she would be so proud of what we create together.