On Monday, my husband was able to sit beside Sean and be with his family to help out during the day. Sean was in and out of consciousness all day long struggling to think clearly through the pain medications when he was awake. He turns to Aaron and asks,"How do you die well?"
I loved my husband's response, as it is so fitting & so true of Sean.
"You live well."
His life was full of love for others, a life lived selflessly, and devoted to God and His teachings. I met Sean about 8 years ago when I first moved to Sacramento. He was a single dad at that point living in Gold River with a daughter Hailey, about to go into the youth ministry, Tyler (the kid who sat on the front pew and worshipped with all his heart), and Parker a young kid running the halls on Sunday's blending in with all the other little kids at Cordova, trading Pokemon cards! There was something special about Sean. He caught my attention within the first few weeks of moving her. I think it was the sincere way he asked how I was doing, the interest he showed in every conversation we had. The sparkle in his eyes in spite of all the hardships he had already endured. His quick wit and his ablity to make you feel important and cared for.
Our wedding was a second date for him and a beautiful woman named Cynthia. I love the picture of some of our guests where Sean is making a silly face. That was Sean, a total crack up. He knew when to be serious and when to be silly and he was not above being silly to get a laugh out of people. I still use daily the block of Farberware knives he purchased for us that day.
About a year after that date at our wedding, I got an announcement in the mail from the Allens. It had the sweetest picture of the five of them: Sean and Cynthia in the middle; glowing and radiantly happy with Hailey, Tyler and Parker looking on. What a celebration, and union in marriage between two of the most godly loving people I'd ever know! I could not have been more happy for Sean. He was living proof of Proverbs 18:22. What a blessing Cynthia has been to Sean over the past six years, and a living testament to keeping wedding vows of "in sickness and health, till death do us part".
When we had our first child he told me how beautiful Grace was, and then leaned over to warn Aaron how powerful this little girl would be in his life! Not a Sunday went by that Sean did not tell me what a beautiful family we have. He truly adored our children and I was so grateful for his support of our family. Sean's three children have blessed me more than he could have ever known. Hailey has grown into a beautiful woman seeking God in all she does. I know this is because of the example of godliness Sean lived out for her. Tyler embodies his silly side as well as his deep love of things intellectual. And sweet Parker is the living replica of Sean's tender side. His imprint in their lives is deeply embedded and will live on in his grandchildren someday as well.
Heaven is blessed to receive our brother Sean. As I reflect on the eight years of life that I knew Sean Allen, I could tell a hundred stories, and speak of thousands of lives touched, but it would all come down to this: He Lived Well.
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