Living Eulogy // James Huff

This week's Living Eulogy goes to a man who probably has no idea how much of a big deal he is in my life. He is someone who I've looked up to for a long time. I've appreciated his wit, his smiles and his compliments. This man would be my uncle, James Huff.

My Uncle James is someone I've always looked up to as the older brother I never had. He is so much fun to be around. He was always showing me music I'd never heard of (Beanbag, anyone?), teasing me, and always treating me like I wasn't over a decade younger than him. He would give me baseball and basketball cards and show me his ENORMOUS collection. He even gave me a gigantic stuffed purple bear that I still have in my home, now my son gets to play with it.

Uncle James & my cousin, Kourtney

James is someone who knows how to make you smile. He gets the same twinkle in his eye that my Grandpa Jim gets whenever he starts teasing or telling a little "half-truth". He doesn't always say a whole lot, but when he does, it's always worth listening to.

My uncle went through a couple rough patches in life as I was growing up, and although I wasn't old enough to truly understand, relate or really be there for him, I saw it. I saw the pain in his eyes when we were at a Thanksgiving meal surrounded by family, but without his daughter, and my grandma said, "Let's say what we're thankful for." He slowly pushed his chair back, got up and snuck out of the room without drawing any attention to himself. I saw him as he would come to family gatherings and sit in the corner of the kitchen, baseball hat on with the bill covering his eyes as he looked down, peeling a label off of a pop bottle, not saying a word... keeping as much distance as he could without getting the questions of why he wasn't there. I saw my uncle, who had once been so bubbly, fun & one of my favorite people to be around, become basically a shell any time I was around him.

I don't say this to be a downer, I say this for what's next in this post.

I saw my uncle reach out to God and grab on to Him for all it was worth. I watched as my uncle gave himself, whole-heartedly, to God. He let go of the things he was holding onto so closely in life, and let God take them. He gave God his heart and I watched as God polished that heart, softened it, and brought my uncle back to life. I saw the sparkle start coming back, I heard his laugh again, I had my uncle back!

I've watched as God has mended James into an amazing man who loves the Lord so much. A man who has surrounded himself with people who love and care for him, and who love God. I've heard my Uncle James say, "I realized I didn't have it together, and that I needed to let God have all of it. That I couldn't expect anyone else to fix me. I needed to let God fix me first, then I would be whole." I've been able to see how God brought that perfect person for my Uncle James. Not only did He bring Terra into his life, He brought two more daughters, giving my uncle a beautiful family of 5 (and now a son-in-law, as well as a granddaughter, and another grandson on the way!)

Uncle James, you are an inspiring man. You've shown me how God's love is so much bigger than any problems we face, any situations we get into, and anything we could ever come against. Thank you for always being the older brother my parents never gave me (frankly, I'm happy I get to refer to you as my big brother). Thank you for those conversations we've had, even though they're few and far between. I remember one night when I was riding with you to South Dakota, we just talked the entire way down. There was a lot of laughter, some good advice, and a lot of music. It's one of my fondest memories. Thank you for the random invitations to bonfires. Thank you for the random surprises of baked goods, or even an invite for poutine. I love and appreciate you and your family so much. You have always been a person I've felt so privileged to know and call family. Thank you for being you.

Love,

Jenny