My mother leaves behind a great many of us whom she touched during her life on earth. We grieve that she is no longer here to enrich our lives, but she still offers so much. We merely need to let her life inspire us.

Do not be mistaken. My mother was not a cancer victim; she was a cancer victor. She lived her last nine years as she had lived the rest: active, playful, productive, giving, loving, with the enthusiasm for life we had taken for granted before.

She touched so many people in so many ways it is impossible for any one of us to comprehend her life. How can I imagine all that she was? Her activities, her contributions, her friendships, her siblings, her husband, her children, her grandchildren, her ski buddies, her golf friends, her bridge clubs, her PEO sisters, her sailing friends, her flying friends, her prolific blood donations, her students, her patients, her ministry. There is no end to it.

For those of us who are young and strong, and for those of us who think they are old and weak, let Kitty's spirit enter your heart. Let her memory remind you that as long as you draw breath there are countless lives waiting to be touched by your spirit. Waiting for you to laugh with them, to play with them, to love them, to help them, to pray for them, as she did. Make Kitty Runyan, as she looks down from heaven, smile to see that she has inspired you to live a better life, one worthy of God's gifts. Make her smile to see that she showed you there is more to life than you can imagine, and that no hardship, no handicap and no disease can change that.

I thank God for her life. I could not have asked for or even conceived of a fuller one. How can I grieve, but for myself? Thank you mother. You didn't just love me, or care for me. You made me more. You made us all more for knowing you.