Today I attended my cousin’s funeral and was in awe of the out-pour of love from the 400 (plus) people who gathered in her memory to lay her to rest. I managed to find a single seat in the very back row and I sat among complete strangers since there was not a seat available next to my family. I sat as I watched people squeeze their way into the church. The hundreds of people who attended speaks volumes of the kind of person she was. Plenty of tears and kind words were offered. You really felt the gratitude in everyone’s heart for having the chance to know her and share so many memories during her time spent here on Earth.

After all the speeches were made the pastor took the microphone. Among all the things the pastor said, one thing resonated with me, “Death is a sobering experience.” It’s true. When someone passes on, it reminds us that life is short. We are not promised another day. Death makes you think of your life. The changes you could and should make to maximize the most of your time spent on Earth. What legacy would you want to leave? My cousin was known for so many things, being a giver, putting others before herself, seeing the positive in every situation, believing and loving Jesus with all her heart, fighting for her life ’til the very end, smiling through the pain, and so much more.

The pastor said my cousin called him weeks before her passing, she asked for one thing. One very important thing. She asked for him to bring Jesus Christ to all her friends and family on the day of her funeral. She asked the pastor to promise he would and he did. So many people accepted the Lord into their hearts on this very day. It was beautiful. You see, even her last request was to help others. This was all part of her legacy. Her son shared with all of us that the day she found out that she had cancer and only 4 months to live, he asked, “Mom are you scared to die?” Her reply, “Why should I be scared? I will be going home to two fathers. My own father and Jesus.” She was quite strong even after being told she had a few short months left to spend with her loved ones. The doctors were wrong and God blessed her with 14 more months. Even being ill and at times in unbearable pain, she still mustered up the strength to attend her grandchildren’s school graduations, birthday’s, holidays, and even two weeks before her passing, she was in church. The pastor said she did not make it through the entire service, but she showed up for Jesus. So powerful.

The procession after the funeral services was like no other. My cousin was a member of a lowrider car club and hundreds of classic cars were there for one last cruise with Cadillac aka Letitia Mejia Vasquez. As they loaded her custom-made, spray painted casket into the back of a classic truck tears were shed, pictures were captured and the cruise began (with her Cadillac following directly behind the truck). Sirens from each Chevy (bomb) sounded through the streets of Whittier. Complete strangers actually wrote about the procession on Facebook. Oldie tunes were blasting through the streets. It was absolutely gorgeous. The beauty continued through the gates of Rose Hills cemetery. Here everyone said their last good-byes and a dozen white doves were released. Talk about a way to go home. It almost didn’t seem real. Photographers were there to capture every moment.

I couldn’t help but think on my drive home from the grave-site, what would my legacy be? If I passed tomorrow, how would people remember me? Would I be remembered for my smile, upbeat personality, negotiation skills? Would people think I was a hard worker, lazy, goal oriented? Would people see me as the one who liked to go out and have a good time ( maybe a little too much)? The thought of what people might and might not think of me actually made me sad because there wasn’t a straight answer. There was no certainty. I quickly remembered what every poster board said at the funeral. “Be your own kind of beautiful.” To me this simply meant, be who you are and don’t apologize for it. Do your very best, live your life the way you want to live it. Live for others but most importantly live the life you want to be remembered for. I have been to many funerals, but this one touched me the very most. Who knows why, maybe because I am older now, maybe it was the out-pour of love from the hundreds of people who showed up for Cadillac, I’m not sure why. But I am going to run with this feeling that I have in my heart at this very moment. My promise to myself is to love hard, live a life worth remembering, and give 110% to everyone and everything in my life. To lend a helping hand, to be a loyal friend and wife, and to simply praise Jesus.