You are the Story I Tell: The Prosapio Family

I truly believe that the greatest gift that you can give to another person is to genuinely let them know that who they are and what they do matters. It has been my goal in 2014 to become a more thoughtful person. A string of deaths to some individuals who positively affected my life led me to conceive this series. As the words to my favorite song go, “And for those who have stood by my side, you are the story I tell.” You are the words and pages to my story.

Over the course of the next several months, I will be writing open letters to those who have positively impacted my story. I’m not going to lie. It is my goal to make you cry, not out of grief or pain but out of the realization that you do truly matter. I am not doing this in order of how important you are to me. For the most part (other than birthdays or other important events), the letters will be done in a random order. I hope you enjoy, and I hope you come away from this with the realization that you are extremely important to me.

Dear Jerry, Pat, Brian, and Laura,

There is not a family in the world that provides a better example of godly living than the four of you. You have no idea how much of a blessing you have been to me.

Katie was one of the best friends I ever had. She was the best listener that I ever met. I remember one night when I was in junior high or high school that we talked for probably four hours, and I think I did the talking for at least three and a half of those hours! I don’t recall her ever judging me or anyone else. That was such a rare quality for someone that age to have. As an adolescent, you are always trying to do whatever you can to make yourself look or feel better. Katie didn’t do that. All she did was love people.

It broke my heart when she passed. Even now, nearly a decade later, I still get choked up every now and then when I think of her. I didn’t understand why it had to happen, and a couple times I got angry with God for that happening. But every time I got angry, I realized that I never saw any of you get angry. Not even once. That really helped me through the healing process.

What makes your family so special is not the fact that you have been able to overcome grief. Instead, it is the fact that even through your grief, you have used everything you have gone through to become a blessing to others. Even through the most challenging of times, you have each had a servant’s heart and looked to do everything you could to bless everyone you came into contact with. That hasn’t gone unnoticed.

Katie was one of the most thoughtful people I have ever known. She never forgot a birthday, and even our last conversation had to do with the fact that she was thinking of me because my beloved Seahawks were in the Super Bowl. The longer time has gone on, the more I realize that the thoughtfulness Katie had runs in her family. You have each been a blessing to me every birthday, and the Seahawks’ Super Bowl win was so much more special because of your thoughtfulness. The Pentecostal Evangel with Russell Wilson on the cover is something I will always keep.

You have had no obligation to keep me in your thoughts. Katie was no longer around. But even though I lost one friend in March 2006, I gained four more in the process.

Sometimes I think about how my friendship would be with Katie if she were around today. I’ve never really told anyone this, but one question that has helped guide some of my decisions is “Would Katie be proud of this decision?” I miss her, but I am so grateful that I still have four big pieces of her. Though our paths have not crossed in person for a few years, I am grateful for your friendship and the blessing you have been to me.

Love always,
Jakob