June 11, 2012 Part 2- A Celebration of Alexis Rose's Life

Peri and I drove to Wylie and met Hailey, Tony, Sammy, Shelby, Warner, and Riley at our house. We then followed each other up to New Hope. It was about 5:30. There were only a few cars there so we parked and went into the church.  The lobby looked so nice. There was a table with some of Alexis’ favorite things and items that we thought best described Alexis.

We put the bear and blanket she made for Riley there and the “prom” dress she had sewn.  Her camera and photos sat atop the table as well. We were escorted into one of the rooms where my life group was serving us dinner. As I walked in I saw my sister’s children.  Courtney and his wife Brea , Chris and his wife Joy who had driven in from Amarillo, and my niece Jennifer  who drove in from San Antonio . My brother in law Carl was there as well with his wife Susan.

Then Warner’s parents arrived and his sister Mary and her husband Keith.  Melanie arrived not long after as well as my good friend Cheri. It was nice to see all the familiar faces and to sit down for  a dinner. Cheri and Peri had a lot of fun talking with my niece and nephews because they had helped me babysit them numerous times at Cedar Creek Lake, when we were in our young twenties,  when my sister and Carl would go on a trip.

Somewhat anxious I had to get up and move around. I walked toward the “sanctuary” and opened the door. My breath was taken away as I looked at all the beautiful flowers at the front of the church. There were tons of flowers, plants, and sprays so I went to read all of the cards. As I was admiring all the flowers my friend Linda began to play the  music video of Alexis .

This was the first time I heard and saw the songs combined with the photos and I began to cry because of the reality of it all. Taking a deep breath I pulled myself together to try and practice what I was going to say.  My mind could not focus so I threw away my notes and said a prayer letting God know I needed him .

The others had finished dinner and it was getting close to 7 so everyone trickled into the church. My family and I stood at the door as the guests began to arrive.  My heart was overflowing at all the people who kept streaming in handing me cards. It was decided that the family and close friends would go sit down as the guests were ushered to their seats. At that point I wasn’t really aware of who had come. We sat on the first two rows and then my daughter's funeral began. It still seemed unreal that she was really gone.

We started with worship and the songs I had chosen were Healer and Shout to the Lord. As Kerri , Rita, and Courtney began to sing and play I rose from my chair lifting my hands up to my God and singing from the depth of my heart.

I needed to feel HIS presence at the moment more than I ever had, I needed HIM to be my refuge and my strength. My hands were lifted praising my God claiming HIS goodness as the tears streamed down my face. It was one of the most emotional moments of my life. The song Hurt and Healer describes those moments perfectly “where glory meets my suffering“. It was overwhelming.

I think after the worship we played the music video to the songs “Angel” and “Over You”. I am confused about the order events but I will do my best. That was probably the most emotional for everyone because we looked at the life of Alexis: her family, her friends, her humor, and of course her loving relationship with our  Riley Roo. A clip to the video is below.

Alexis Rose Washington from Susan DeFace Washington on Vimeo.

After the worship time Jake Vicknair New Hopes Youth Pastor spoke first . He shared about when he first came to New Hope and was told he had a pregnant teen in his group.  He wondered how this pregnant teen would handle everything. He said that Alexis always fit in and always paid attention. After she had Riley she brought her friends to youth and two of those girls had become leaders at New Hope and one of them , her friend Katie, was serving in Africa as a short term missionary. And even though Alexis had strayed from church he was amazed at the impact she had. You never know whose lives you impact .

After Jake spoke Alexis’ grandfather Warner Washington Jr. came up to read scripture. This was nothing new to him, he has been a priest  in the Episcopal Church then a Deacon in the Catholic church for his entire adult life. He had performed many types of services but never the funeral for his grandchild. Tears began to flow again. After Warner read from the Bible Keith introduced us : Alexis’ immediate family.

Like I said I didn’t know what I was going to say all I knew is God was going to speak through me.  Keith introduced us then Warner, Hailey, Sammy, Riley, and I went up on the stage. We each took turns speaking and Warner began. He shared two funny stories about Alexis: once she had called 911 on her Grandy because he wouldn’t let her play. She told the officers she was being abused.  

The Wylie Police arrived at the Washington household to investigate these charges made against Warner who was a pillar in the community, a deacon at the Catholic Church, and had never had so much as a traffic ticket J  The next story Alexis’ dad shared was about the two records Alexis held at Wylie High School: One for the most consecutive days in ISS and the other for the most tardies. He also shared how she had snuck into a cabinet to avoid Friday Night School. Everyone laughed with us because Alexis was such a funny girl. Next Sammy shared, he talked about how tough Alexis was and how she could beat anyone including him which everyone laughed again. He just shared about how much he would miss her because they were so very close not even a year apart. They would talk for hours about the hopes, dreams, and problems.

He always imagined growing old with her. He was having a hard time imagining life without her. Hailey Beth was next and the most emotional of the group; she loved Alexis so much and just felt so bad that for so many years they didn’t get along. Then it was my turn and honestly I don’t know what I said. I think I shared  my love for her and my love for God knowing he was with us during this tragic time. What I wanted to convey was the difference in my life since I had made Jesus my savior. Life is so different when you have hope even in the most tragic circumstances.  And there is hope because you know God is on his throne in the good times and bad.

Our family : Hailey, Sammy , Warner, Riley, and I sharing our love for Alexis

Then Keith Spurgin , New Hope’s pastor, spoke. It was  moving and impactful . I think many hearts were changed in that moment and he even felt led to ask people who didn’t know Jesus but wanted and needed him to raise their hands. It was estimated that over 200 gave their hearts to Jesus that night. Alexis’ death had made and is still making an eternal difference. Because of that I can honestly say it is worth it. Because of my faith I know I will see her again and it will seem like in a flash as Keith had said “Alexis was gone in a flash” and we could be too. Live for today and secure your eternal future now.

After Keith was done my classmate Deryl Dodd played his guitar and sang Where the River flows I believe and people started greeting  us.

My heart was overcome with gratefulness and thankfulness as friends from so many different walks of my life came to hug my neck. There were friends from elementary school, junior high, high school, friends I taught with in Amarillo and Garland and people from my church who worked so hard to make this such a beautiful ceremony .

People who drove hours to support me and my family. People who took time out of their busy evening to pay their respects to my daughter. And that doesn’t even scratch the surface of the young adults who knew Alexis that came to say goodbye to our funny funny girl. It was a beautiful celebration of her life. As the crowd of 600 + began to trickle out we started loading up our cars with all the flowers .

We left some for the church , and sent some with friends and decided to take the remainder to the crash site. The reality was sinking in and I began to feel so anxious about what to do next because now there was nothing to do or plan. I had been preoccupied with the busyness of getting ready for the service and now I didn’t know what would I would do. Melanie was leaving the country and I was housesitting for her and I had a list to do each day.

It was a simple list but I was thankful knowing if I could perform those tasks : feeding the dogs, watering the plants, and winding the clock I would feel a sense of accomplishment. I couldn’t imagine much more , the idea of work was overwhelming. I would just focus on the tasks right in front of me and try not to imagine how I was going to survive the rest of my life without my daughter. I took a deep significant breath knowing I would survive and thrive one breath at a time. 

I had experience with this and I knew God would get me through it this time as well the main difference is this time I knew where to get my strength. Sighing sadly I knew I was going to make it.

We loaded up in our cars with all the flowers and headed to the crash site. 

Our family at the cross with all the flower from the service. It was and is so very beautiful and peaceful

A closer look at the beautiful flowers.