JoAnn Way - My Angel
God called Jo home on Friday, March 29th. Jo is 73 years of age. She is a wife, a mother, a friend, a sister, a daughter and a servant of God.
I came to know Jo thru my best friend, my “brother” Art and their daughter Michelle.
Through the years, we were blessed with many memories. There were softball games, trips to Hilton Head, church at St.Andrews United Methodist Church, golf, birthdays, cards, trips to Huntsville and the Elk River “Cabin”, dinners, weddings, real estate deals, more trips, investments, and great “fellowship”.
On more than one occasion, we would share our reflections, our perspectives and our philosophies. One of the more important philosophies of life which I was fortunate to share with Jo, and which I will share with you today, is a philosophy dealing with personal relationships.
In the late 1980’s I was working for General Electric in the nuclear engineering field. I was on a flight to Seattle when I was blessed with the opportunity to speak with an individual that had a doctorate in psychology. He was the prison psychologist for the state of Washington. I don’t remember his name but I remember our conversation distinctively.
He sat in the seat next to me. We started a conversation. He asked about my family. At the time our oldest daughter was a young teenager struggling to find her independence. We discussed the population of the prison system and he shared with me his observations of some 35 years of dealing with that population.
It was prolific. It was thought provoking. And, it was heaven sent.
I believe it was an epiphany sent from God.
Here it is.
There are three distinct types of personal relationships in life the first of which is dependency. When we are born, we are born in a “dependent” relationship. We depend on others to exist. Someone has to feed us. Someone has to clothe us and keep us warm. This is the dependent stage of our personal relationship. We rely totally on others to provide for us.
While we are young, being in a totally dependent relationship is perfectly acceptable. However, God wants us to grow and it isn’t long before most of us transform into a new personal relationship. A relationship of independence.
It begins with us learning to feed ourselves. It isn’t long before we are potty trained and soon we learn to dress ourselves. Our parents, are the other side of this independent personal relationship and are happy to see our growth. At the tender age of 3-5, sometimes younger, sometimes older, we begin to have our independent thoughts. Over the next few years, we gradually become more and more Independant. Eventually, Many of us strike out in the world to establish ourselves as independent beings capable of taking care of ourselves and providing for ourselves.
The 3rd relationship type is the “interdependent” stage. In this relationship, we will put the benefits of others ahead of our own. In life, if we are doing things right, this is when we get married, when we have children, and I believe this is when God prepares us for our work in the life everlasting. We are willing to put the interests of our spouse ahead of our own. We are willing to protect our children even if it means suffering ourselves. We become our “brothers keeper”.
This relationship stage is the longest stage. It will last potentially forever if we grow with it. It is the relationships of Angels.
So now,
you ask,
“Daryl, what is your point?”
But deep down you already know
because you have known Joanne Way.
Jo lived her later years in an interdependent relationship with many.
She is .....
a true “brothers keeper” .....
to her loving husband.....
to her beautiful daughter and an equally beautiful granddaughter....
to her sister.....
to her nephews.....
and to many of you....
and to many others.....
And to me!
So, I call her...
My Angel!
And, I hope you can too!
While I will miss her physical presence, she will always live on in a spiritual sense. I will think of her often. I will use her being as a model, As a mentor, And, I will reflect upon her spirit to guide me towards heaven.
God’s speed Jo-Jo!
