

| Angel Brooke It was a scene not unlike that of a wedding. All her friends and many loved ones were gathered round, while fresh cut flowers filled the room with hope. Only the bride was not in attendance. The soul that is Brooke having flown, only her battered body remained, itself a testament to her final gift in this world . It served as the sad centerpiece of this profoundly sadder occasion. Brooke’s sudden departure from this world has deeply affected each and every life she has touched in her 22 years among those who remain behind. And these people must each seek a greater meaning in their own way and time. An understanding of such matters is not an understanding at all, but rather a knowing based on belief. Each person who loved Brooke must form their own meaning. Nonetheless, to find meaning in Brooke’s "death", one must examine her life. Over 1800 people signed into attendance at Brooke’s funeral. Measure her life in years, and Brooke’s love touched an additional new person (and inspired a new loving relationship) every 4-5 days while she was here. These people now have the rest of their years to grow into the meaning that both her arrival and her departure evoke. To understand the profound spiritual growth thus generated among those who love Brooke is but to glimpse the shadow of God’s greater purpose. And part of this understanding is an awareness of the eternity of love. Here you also see a vibrant and loving girl borne of a deeply maternal woman. She grows up the child of a woman who also cares for children not her own -- for children whose mothers must earn a living and for children whose mothers, through some form of personal weakness, are unable to care for their own. As a young adult Brooke attends college classes in childhood development and education in pursuit of a teaching career. But such was not to be. Brooke would not be a mother in this Earthy life, nor would she marry, nor teach. However, the tears that followed her sudden departure flow but into a much greater love and joy at her arrival in Heaven, the Realm of Spirit. Entering her spirit life, Angel Brooke is greeted with tears of joy and the boundless, innocent love of children everywhere who need the angelic miracle of her powerful maternal love and gentle guiding spirit. God weighs this Greater Love against a mother’s sacrifice, and says it must be so. But even as mother and child hold hands, mother and angel hold hearts in the Eternal Love that is God. Gene C Baldwin |

| Matt 3:16 And when Jesus had been baptized, as He came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to Him and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on Him. |
| Our beloved Brooke |