William - Bill Galloway

To My Bubba   When I was asked to write a few words to say at the celebration of your life, I instantly began feeling so many emotions of what you’ve been to me over the past 23 years of my life. I can talk about the many early mornings where you were my best friend, even if I did have a “Fat banana nose.” And the only way to get a strawberry from you was for you to bop me on the head and then for you to laugh so infectiously afterwards, I miss that laugh. Or I could talk about how you were a life speaker in my life, when my teens hit and I wanted to do exactly whatever I felt to do in the moment, still being a best friend, still looking out for me, wanting the best for me, you would always say “Girl, you know I pray for you.” I would be remiss if I didn’t say; even to this day some of those prayers whispered from your mouth to God’s ears are what have been carrying me. There were times I would walk away and feel like I could literally accomplish anything I set my mind to, you were always diligent to ask me every time I seen you “So, what’s new with you girl?” and you would always sit down, or pull your chair closer to me and let me know I had your undivided attention. I remember the time I got my first car, all by myself, it wasn’t nearly as nice as the cars my parents had blessed me with but you did a low whistle and you said “WOW! That’s a nice car, isn’t God good.” That was always you, in our conversations, our encounters you were always pointing me back to what truly mattered. I can talk about the mornings I would wake up and I would hear you whispering outside on the porch, only for me to get closer and for you to be saying “You’re so good God. You’re so good.” I wrote a poem; it will never embody all that you meant to me, but I read it all the same.   I met love, he walked the earth, he was a small man, with a huge heart, he took his coffee extra sweet in the morning, he  liked to sit out on the porch with two things; his funnies and his dog, some mornings he would take an egg sandwich, others he would not, but every morning he could be found whispering prayers to our God. I met joy, he was my mentor, with a laugh so infectious, and so full of glee it would take my mind of my problems and open my eyes to see the beautiful world around me. I met patience, he was my teacher, 1,3,5, it was never about how fast I could go, nor how right I could do it, it was about my will to never give up. I met peace; he had a soul filled with wisdom, and head full of gray hair, every thanksgiving when listing of what he was thankful for he would cry because he was so thankful. He would always remember the things that are often taken for granted. I met kindness, he was a godly man, and a goodly man, never once did I hear him speak Ill of others. I met goodness, with a heart made of gold, he would tell all about what God had done. No reservation nor hesitancy, his eyes would light up when he began to speak of the things God had done. I met faithfulness, he would pick me up from school, he would take me here, and there, always with a smile, always slow and steady, but always would he be there, right on time. I met gentleness, he always listened with grace, he would sit in his rocking chair, humming a soft jazz tune, at his feet would be a heater, and when I was done telling him my woes, he would gently tell me of the greater good. I met meekness, as life began to set in, he never lost his smile, even when he lost a few teeth, he never lost his vision of the greater purpose of why we were here, even when his health began to fail. His eyes were always heavenward.   For those of you who are unaware, I just listed the fruits of the spirit, as children of God they are supposed to be living and evident in all manners of our lives, whether it be when someone sees us or when we are alone, and with bubba, if you ever came in contact with him that was the first thing you seen, the first thing you felt, and the last thing you walked away remembering. No words can truly express the magnitude of his influence, and I think when you experience a person like this, the only words my heart can truly find to say is an echo of my mother’s “Thank You God for allowing me to know someone so beautiful.” So, bubba, while you’re dancing on streets of gold, know “Nothing is shaking down here but the leaves.” As he would leave us, I follow his fashion: Let our eyes look heavenward and consider “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” ‭‭Galatians‬ ‭5:22-23‬ ‭KJV‬‬