Living With Purpose: Lessons on Legacy From Two People I Lost

0:00 [SPEAKER_00]: We get so busy building life that we forget to live it. [SPEAKER_00]: He was a pilot who flew for 43 years and an aviation specialist inspector for 23 years. [SPEAKER_00]: And now remember the time that he had to decide whether he was going to do kino or stop kino. [SPEAKER_00]: So last week, I woke up thinking about legacy. [SPEAKER_00]: What does it mean to live with purpose? [SPEAKER_00]: What kind of impact are we making? [SPEAKER_00]: And what will people remember us by? [SPEAKER_00]: Little did I know before the week was over, I would lose two very special people in my life. [SPEAKER_00]: My dear friend, Amy, and my uncle, Jake.

0:40 [SPEAKER_00]: Two people who lived very different lives and had something beautiful in common. [SPEAKER_00]: They loved people, brought joy into lives of others and used what they had to make a difference. [SPEAKER_00]: So today I'm dedicating this episode to both of them. [SPEAKER_00]: Talking about something I believe every one of us needs to remember. [SPEAKER_00]: You don't have to change the whole world to change someone else's world. [SPEAKER_00]: I want to tell you just a little bit about these two incredible people because they made such a huge difference in the world. [SPEAKER_00]: Amy was part of our vendor community for many, many years. [SPEAKER_00]: She was with me from the very beginning.

1:20 [SPEAKER_00]: and boy was she a spitfire. [SPEAKER_00]: I'll never forget the first time I met her. [SPEAKER_00]: She was so bubbly and her husband was there always helping and supporting her. [SPEAKER_00]: She made everybody laugh and she brought joy into the room. [SPEAKER_00]: I remember she would always shout everyone out and show so much kindness to everyone. [SPEAKER_00]: In fact, people would even show up to see her like wears pink zebra and I'd have to tell them where she was. [SPEAKER_00]: Her unexpected passing was a shock to all of us. [SPEAKER_00]: Many of us, her family, her friends, and her vendor community. [SPEAKER_00]: Because in the vendor community, we all become like family.

2:02 [SPEAKER_00]: So when I heard of this, I was rushed with many memories and thoughts of how a beautiful person she was. [SPEAKER_00]: Over the years we became friends, and I found out that she was the glue of her family, and talk about a legacy she left. [SPEAKER_00]: Amy truly believed we all rise together. [SPEAKER_00]: supporting each other rather than competing with each other. [SPEAKER_00]: She would definitely be the one in the room that would call out if somebody was dogging or putting somebody down. [SPEAKER_00]: She was like, we're not having that. [SPEAKER_00]: We're all here to rise together. [SPEAKER_00]: The one thing getting to know Amy that I knew is she truly knew what her purpose in calling was in this life.

2:43 [SPEAKER_00]: She knew that she was here to make a difference whether it was small or big. [SPEAKER_00]: She was there to make everybody laugh, everybody smile, and she sure did a good job of it. [SPEAKER_00]: Everyone looked up to her. [SPEAKER_00]: She would keep people together, and I remember many times she was share special moments with me and have me pray for her, and she would pray for me as well. [SPEAKER_00]: So that was super important. [SPEAKER_00]: That just goes to show you don't have to do huge things to make a difference in people's life. [SPEAKER_00]: Just being present at the right moment, encouraging words at the right moment, all make a difference, and Amy made a difference. [SPEAKER_00]: I think one of the biggest things that I learned from her is your success doesn't take away from mine.

3:28 [SPEAKER_00]: When we lift each other up, we all rise. [SPEAKER_00]: My gifts and talents don't get in the way of your gifts and talents. [SPEAKER_00]: My abilities don't get in the way we compliment each other and we rise together. [SPEAKER_00]: Amy showed me how much love and the community matter. [SPEAKER_00]: And my uncle Jake showed me another beautiful way we can use our lives to make a difference. [SPEAKER_00]: Jake was my father's best friend. [SPEAKER_00]: He spent so much time with him that I literally thought he was my uncle. [SPEAKER_00]: We would date trips to Colorado and he would come CS and Kansas. [SPEAKER_00]: He loved the Lord with all his heart, and that is the biggest thing I remember. [SPEAKER_00]: But there was a couple of childhood stories that I just can't get out my mind.

4:10 [SPEAKER_00]: And I have to tell you about them because one, they're funny because that's how he was. [SPEAKER_00]: He was a big jokester, a prankster, but yet within all of that, there was a lesson. [SPEAKER_00]: I think the first lesson I had was he came on a trip to Kansas with his family. [SPEAKER_00]: And we were all playing out back and I was very young. [SPEAKER_00]: And we were playing on the swing set. [SPEAKER_00]: And I loved the bars. [SPEAKER_00]: Like doing fun things, like flipping off of them, hanging upside down, all that kind of stuff. [SPEAKER_00]: So I was showing my uncle Jake that I could hang upside down. [SPEAKER_00]: And he came up, and I was just sitting there showing that, see, look at me, and he tied my shoe string to the bar.

4:54 [SPEAKER_00]: which I had no idea he did until I got ready to flip off. [SPEAKER_00]: And I realized that my shoe strings were still tied to the bar. [SPEAKER_00]: Oh, my goodness. [SPEAKER_00]: I started throwing a fit. [SPEAKER_00]: And so I just remember being flooded with emotion. [SPEAKER_00]: I was so angry. [SPEAKER_00]: But everybody was laughing and he's making a joke like, get down, Kathy, can't you get down? [SPEAKER_00]: And he's just laughing. [SPEAKER_00]: My father's laughing. [SPEAKER_00]: My brother, my younger brother, really laughing. [SPEAKER_00]: So I'm like, what is going on, but I could not get down. [SPEAKER_00]: And I was livid. [SPEAKER_00]: And so finally, he opens the door, they go in. [SPEAKER_00]: And I'm like, they're going to leave me outside, but I remember him opening the door saying, hey, Kathy, all you have to do is take your shoe off.

5:45 [SPEAKER_00]: like literally. [SPEAKER_00]: I was trying to untie my shoe doing it the hard way. [SPEAKER_00]: When the easy way was just kick my shoe off and I would have fell down because literally it was the swing set, you know the side part where you're like not even a foot off the ground so you're not even gonna really fall. [SPEAKER_00]: The lesson that I learned was sometimes we're so upset that we can't see the simple solution right in front of us. [SPEAKER_00]: That that's just the kind of guy you was. [SPEAKER_00]: Like he loved to play pranks. [SPEAKER_00]: He would we would go to his house and he had these hot peppers like the ghost peppers. [SPEAKER_00]: And he'd be like, oh, it's not that hot. [SPEAKER_00]: And then we would grab it and be like chomping them down and face all burning or mouth burning and he's laughing and we're like, what's going on?

6:31 [SPEAKER_00]: But that's just who he was. [SPEAKER_00]: But he lit up every room he came into. [SPEAKER_00]: I'll never forget. [SPEAKER_00]: him leaving me on the slopes in Colorado. [SPEAKER_00]: That was one that happened right there in Colorado. [SPEAKER_00]: We had all went skiing as a family. [SPEAKER_00]: And I was just learning to know the peanut butter jelly, peanut butter jelly, that's what makes you stop. [SPEAKER_00]: And so I practice and he tells me, oh, you're good enough. [SPEAKER_00]: You can come up over to this other slope. [SPEAKER_00]: So I'm thinking, oh, he thinks I'm good. [SPEAKER_00]: So we go up higher than my brother and my mom and my dad. [SPEAKER_00]: And he's like, come on, I'll take you [SPEAKER_00]: Well, the other slopes you go to, the steeper they get when they come down and they even have those little ramps where you jump.

7:15 [SPEAKER_00]: Well, I thought I was going to be cool and jump this little ramp. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I jumped it and my feet went both directions. [SPEAKER_00]: So I'm sitting there laying backwards with my skis behind me. [SPEAKER_00]: I can't get down and he just flies past see you at the bottom, Kathy. [SPEAKER_00]: and people are literally like flying over me like every time they jump I'd see people skis right over my face and I'm thinking oh my gosh I am never going to get down and I remember just flying like I can't do this I can't do this. [SPEAKER_00]: And I finally, I'm like, okay, you're gonna have to believe in yourself. [SPEAKER_00]: You have to do this because people are like, why you're in the way and all this stuff and I'm like, oh my gosh.

7:57 [SPEAKER_00]: So finally, I get unconnected and then go down and then I'm just like, okay, I just give up and I just went as fast as I could. [SPEAKER_00]: I thought I was gonna wipe everybody out going down. [SPEAKER_00]: And we get down at the bottom. [SPEAKER_00]: He said, I'd say, [SPEAKER_00]: Seeing her down here at the bottom, I told you you can do it. [SPEAKER_00]: My uncle Jay, you had a way of just getting under my skin, but every time he would teach me just a little bit more. [SPEAKER_00]: And so over the years we built this really beautiful relationship, and I love the time so he'd share so much with me. [SPEAKER_00]: He was a pilot who flew for 43 years, and an aviation specialist inspector for 23 years. [SPEAKER_00]: And he loved to fly, and that's one thing my father and him had in common.

8:40 [SPEAKER_00]: They both loved planes, they both loved to fly, and I remember many trips together that way as well. [SPEAKER_00]: The sad thing is... [SPEAKER_00]: 12 years ago, he started a battle with multiple melanoma cancer. [SPEAKER_00]: But the one thing I learned from him over the years is what to be grateful for. [SPEAKER_00]: He lived life to the fullest, he knew his purpose, and he lived it out. [SPEAKER_00]: With discipline, even when things would go bad, he still always found the good. [SPEAKER_00]: So when the cancer started, he knew he could fight this battle. [SPEAKER_00]: He'd always find the things to be grateful for.

9:20 [SPEAKER_00]: He loved a travel, of course, flying. [SPEAKER_00]: But then he had even a deeper passion. [SPEAKER_00]: What his true calling was. [SPEAKER_00]: He traveled a Haiti to Kenya, into Bangladesh, in Malaysia, and beyond. [SPEAKER_00]: All of these things got him to thinking. [SPEAKER_00]: And he began Haiti's hope. [SPEAKER_00]: He was a president and co-founder of a nonprofit organization called Children's Haiti's Hope. [SPEAKER_00]: And this is where I couldn't be more proud of him. [SPEAKER_00]: He truly put his heart and soul in the ministry for God's children and made such a big impact.

10:02 [SPEAKER_00]: He raised money, he would go to churches, and created a program where you can adopt a child, make sure that they were taking care of and fed, they built a school, they provided medical attention, and it was a village where kids could be safe. [SPEAKER_00]: and that I could not be more proud of. [SPEAKER_00]: And he would take trips over to Haiti many times. [SPEAKER_00]: And not always was it safe. [SPEAKER_00]: He'd have to jump in the back of the car that they were taking in the Jeep and they would have to hide him. [SPEAKER_00]: Americans were always wanting. [SPEAKER_00]: And so sometimes it was pretty dangerous. [SPEAKER_00]: So he would put himself in that just to make sure everything was taken care of. [SPEAKER_00]: And later, he co-found an outgrowing organization called Pendro Hope Foundation in Nakaru, Kenya, and served children in need for many years providing meals, clothing, school supplies, and other essentials.

10:55 [SPEAKER_00]: So that leads me to think about our last visit together. [SPEAKER_00]: I had actually came from Kansas City up to Selena to hear him present out of church about Haiti's hope. [SPEAKER_00]: I had never really heard him do the whole spill about what he does and I learned a whole lot of things that time that I just didn't even know. [SPEAKER_00]: And about the mission, it was super powerful to hear his presentation and I'm glad I got to see it in person. [SPEAKER_00]: That night we were sitting at my parents' house, I had given a copy of my [SPEAKER_00]: gratitude journal and my affirmation journal and signed a while I was sitting with him and we started talking about gratitude. [SPEAKER_00]: He was so excited that I had went down this mission.

11:35 [SPEAKER_00]: He was like, oh my goodness, my mom used to talk about gratitude and she would write in journals. [SPEAKER_00]: And he was so excited that I had actually wrote my own gratitude journal because he does a lot of journaling as well, but we started talking about gratitude and how important it is. [SPEAKER_00]: And we talked about it our lives and different things that we've went through. [SPEAKER_00]: And he really kind of opened up to me more talking about his cancer journey and things and how he got through it. [SPEAKER_00]: He really wasn't even supposed to live as long as he did. [SPEAKER_00]: They kept saying that it was spreading and he may not have much more time. [SPEAKER_00]: And I remember the time that he had to decide whether he was going to do chemo or stop chemo. [SPEAKER_00]: And he shared with me about how he said, you know, he prayed and said, God, my life is yours.

12:25 [SPEAKER_00]: until the day my mission is done. [SPEAKER_00]: So he decided not to do chemo anymore because it was just too much to take. [SPEAKER_00]: but he was grateful for everything, grateful for the little things, grateful for the big things. [SPEAKER_00]: He says, how you get through hard times, Kathy, it's being grateful. [SPEAKER_00]: And writing it down, remembering those things God has done for you. [SPEAKER_00]: And I'll never forget that last moment together, where we got to share about gratitude. [SPEAKER_00]: And I'd like to read a piece of his journal to you because it's so powerful. [SPEAKER_00]: This is when he made it 10 years into surviving cancer.

13:07 [SPEAKER_00]: An excerpt from Jacob Wilson in 2024 reflecting on his 10-year health journey. [SPEAKER_00]: Snuggle up and become close to God, family, friends, read daily scripture and important books. [SPEAKER_00]: Nonfiction about lives make a difference and loving people. [SPEAKER_00]: Time was looked at day by day and moment by moment. [SPEAKER_00]: Having closure with each day as it were your last. [SPEAKER_00]: In close relationships, work and God's purpose and your life and others. [SPEAKER_00]: Everything and everyday has a vision and a purpose. [SPEAKER_00]: Daily survival and be ready to die if need be.

13:48 [SPEAKER_00]: Love and service with excellence became a mantra of the day. [SPEAKER_00]: I thank God for survival and comfort. [SPEAKER_00]: I thank God for mission and purpose. [SPEAKER_00]: I thank Him for friends, family, and prayers. [SPEAKER_00]: Thanks to God for developing leadership and vision this last 10 years. [SPEAKER_00]: Together with a lot of help and cooperation, I have been able to serve Haiti, Afghanistan, and Kenya. [SPEAKER_00]: Haiti has an active school of 300 current students. [SPEAKER_00]: Kenya and active kids club and countryside for the last two years of 70 children.

14:30 [SPEAKER_00]: Afghanistan as a bit top secret was several airplanes continuing to serve people in need. [SPEAKER_00]: The last three years I was able to go back to flight instructing. [SPEAKER_00]: I have completed 28 students, 25 were certified flight instructors to God be the glory. [SPEAKER_00]: One of his favorite scriptures was [SPEAKER_00]: For I'm convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels or demons, neither the present nor the future nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else, and all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God and Christ Jesus our Lord.

15:13 [SPEAKER_00]: I wanted to read that last thing because it was so powerful about being grateful, grateful for, you know, surviving 10 years of cancer. [SPEAKER_00]: But he went to even do more than that over the last few years. [SPEAKER_00]: He knew he had served his life lived his life with purpose. [SPEAKER_00]: And he knew when that last moment came, he was right where he wanted to be with his family. [SPEAKER_00]: So I think that I wanted to share that today because we have a legacy too. [SPEAKER_00]: You have a purpose. [SPEAKER_00]: Are we letting every day busy life get in the way of what God has called us to be? [SPEAKER_00]: Especially Jake with his cancer. [SPEAKER_00]: He was always thankful and always grateful.

15:56 [SPEAKER_00]: and left such a legacy for us all. [SPEAKER_00]: We have to ask ourselves sometimes. [SPEAKER_00]: Are we living our purpose or just staying busy? [SPEAKER_00]: Every day life can get that way. [SPEAKER_00]: We find ourselves having to watch the dishes every night, watch the kids, pick them up from school, go to the soccer games, or if you're an entrepreneur chasing the next sale, making the next deal, helping the next person that we sometimes get off track. [SPEAKER_00]: We don't take the time to sit there and think about what is it that we're really supposed to do. [SPEAKER_00]: We get so busy building life that we forget to live it. [SPEAKER_00]: Am I fulfilling what God has given me to do?

16:37 [SPEAKER_00]: Am I using the gifts God has given me? [SPEAKER_00]: Am I making time for people who matter most? [SPEAKER_00]: Because sometimes we get so busy, we feel like we have to do that I am forgetting what I'm doing it for. [SPEAKER_00]: Am I helping others along the way? [SPEAKER_00]: If people describe my legacy today, what would they say? [SPEAKER_00]: Ask yourself those questions because a full calendar doesn't always mean a fulfilled life. [SPEAKER_00]: So we have to reflect today and realize is the life we're living a fulfilling life. [SPEAKER_00]: So take the challenge, be a life changer today, even if it is simple as starting a gratitude journal.

17:19 [SPEAKER_00]: And you can do that by clicking the link in the description to grab that gratitude journal [SPEAKER_00]: Another thing we can do is encourage everyone to make a difference in someone's life, whether that's just saying hello to someone in a grocery store line or paying it forward when you're going through the drive through. [SPEAKER_00]: Maybe it's making a phone call, giving encouragement, helping a neighbor or supporting a business, volunteering or spending [SPEAKER_00]: In honor of my friend Amy, lifting up another small business are helping someone else succeed.

18:00 [SPEAKER_00]: In honor of my uncle Jake, looking for a need wherever God has planned in your hands to help. [SPEAKER_00]: Don't wait until you have time, more money, or influence to begin living your purpose. [SPEAKER_00]: Just start living it today. [SPEAKER_00]: I want to leave you with something that's been weighing on my heart. [SPEAKER_00]: We don't know how much time we're given on this earth, but we do have a choice in how we use the time we have. [SPEAKER_00]: And as past week has reminded me that legacy isn't always about the big things we accomplished. [SPEAKER_00]: Sometimes it's the laughter we share, the lessons we teach, and the kindness we show, and the people we help along the way. [SPEAKER_00]: Amy believed we all rise together, my uncle Jake believed in using what God had blessed him with to bless others.

18:47 [SPEAKER_00]: And both of them left a lasting impact on people whose lives have been touched, including my own. [SPEAKER_00]: I hope when you finish listening today, you take a moment to think about the gifts, talents, and abilities God has placed in your hands. [SPEAKER_00]: Don't underestimate them. [SPEAKER_00]: You don't have to be famous. [SPEAKER_00]: You don't have to have a lot of money. [SPEAKER_00]: You don't have to have everything figured out. [SPEAKER_00]: Just start where you are. [SPEAKER_00]: And to Amy and my uncle, Jake, thank you for the laughter, the memories, the love, and the example you set. [SPEAKER_00]: Your legacies will continue to live through the lives that you've touched. [SPEAKER_00]: And remember, your legacy will live through the lives you've touched as well.

19:30 [SPEAKER_00]: Until next time, my friends, go be a life changer.