Jody Ebert

Have you ever had a person in your life, not a member of your family, but a random person who cares deeply for you? And who cares genuinely for you? I have. Her name as Jody Ebert.
Jody Ebert is one of the most kind hearted, loyal, and lest selfish people I have ever met. She is gorgeous inside and out. I don’t even know where to begin with how wonderful she is.
Church was great, and Jody is one of the main reasons why it was so wonderful. Jody was my Laurel advisor. Her gentle manner and kind words are what attracted me to her most. She always had my best interest at heart, and she was always very concerned with me and aware of what was going on in my life. She was one person I can say was honestly there for me without fail at all times. Another huge thing is she was in tune with the Spirit. This made her all the more meaningful to me. Let me explain.
One night I was home alone. All of a sudden I was overcome with an overwhelming sadness and pain in my heart that I felt. My heart was hurting so bad and it didn’t feel like it would ever be healed. I remember being in my room and just breaking down and asking Heavenly Father to please make it stop. I can’t remember the particulars of what triggered that melt down, but I knew the main reason was I felt as if I was losing so many people in this life and to the most tragic things. I was particularly upset that Austin had taken his own life. None of it seemed fair or okay to me. I remember praying out loud and asking, no pleading, with Heavenly Father to let me know that it was going to be okay, and to give me someone who understood what I was dealing with, to let me know I wasn’t alone. Just then, literally as soon as I finished that prayer, the home phone rang. Since I was the only one home, I pulled myself together quickly and ran and got the phone. It was Jody. She said she had just had a feeling she should call and ask how I was doing with everything. I don’t think she will never know how appreciated and inspired that call was.
To me it felt like I lost my way a little, and Jody was one of the main people to help make me feel worth something and to find my way back; to find my true self, my happy self again. Whenever I seemed upset at church, or if something seemed off about me, it was like she had a sixth sense. Jody always knew. And she always sought me out to make sure that I had the support I needed and to let me know that she was there. Jody was never judgmental and was always cheering me on. And it wasn’t just me. Somehow she managed to know exactly what all the needs were of each of us girls, and she always went above and beyond what she was required to do to make our lives that much better.
One of my favorite things about my relationship with Jody and I were the emails we would share back and forth with each other. We would email about anything and everything, from wishing each other a happy day, to giving words of encouragement through a rough time. Her emails always put a smile on my face and brightened my entire day.
I remember one youth activity, I can’t remember what had happened, I think it was around the time of my cousin Austin’s death. He had committed suicide and it had really impacted me for the worse at the time. I had a hard time holding myself together. I remember leaving in the middle of the activity and going to cry in the bathroom. Jody came and found me and just sat with me for a while and let me open up my heart to her about what I was felling. I should tell you, she’s a professional counselor for her job, so she can’t be beat. Not only does she have the experience, but she has the Spirit with her as well. Every time like this, after I opened up to Jody, I felt so much better. I knew at the end of the day that I had at least one person who cared about me and loved me so much! It meant the world to me, especially through those tough times. Jody never gave up on me, or any of the other girls. She always saw our divine potential and encouraged us through both her words and even more so her actions and divine example that we could be amazing; that we were amazing and could reach our full potential. She encouraged each of us to do better and to be better, in the most loving way I have ever witnessed. She believed in me and never gave up even when at times it seemed I had given up on myself. She made me believe I was strong and capable. That was everything to me.
I will forever hold a fondness and special place in my heart for this tremendous woman.