Susan's memorial service: brother Randy

Here is what Susan's brother Randy Romberg shared at her memorial service yesterday:

For whatever reason, Susan always really seemed to have great affection for me. This, in spite of some of my actions toward her when we were kids.

L-R: Randy, Susan & Brian Romberg, 1970

When Susan was in about 7th grade, she LOVED David Cassidy. She studied his every move in Tiger Beat magazine. She also played her Partridge Family album incessantly. I pounded on her bedroom door hoping she’d make the awful noise stop. She ignored me. At some point I actually came to believe that Keith Partridge thought he loved me.  

There were the times when I chastised her for being the slowest person on the planet Earth. You absolutely could not rush her. This did not always fit well with me and my hyper-active ways. My dad affectionately called her “Slough-Foot Sue.” I’m not 100% certain, but I think that title alluded to the fact that she was a bit slow moving.

There was also the time in high school when we were on vacation at Clear Lake and she took her usual full hour, at least, getting herself all dolled-up for the evening. When she came down to the dock, I pushed her in the lake. Nobody thought that was funny then either.

Actually, those incidents were few and far between. Most of the time the two of us treated each other with love and respect. 

Now, ever since we were in our thirties or so, I have consistently looked about ten years older than Susan. The truth is she was actually a year-and-a-half older than me. But that was one thing about my sister. She always looked great. As a matter of fact, it was important to her to look like everything was perfect. It was important to her to do as good a job as possible in all of the areas of her life. Susan worked very hard to be as perfect as possible when it came to being a daughter, a wife, a mother, and a Christian.

So, even though she was always kind and thoughtful, on the inside she was a bit of a worrier and kind of bound up. That was until about ten years ago. It was then that everything changed for her. You’re going to hear more about that in a little while. But suffice it to say that Susan met the real God who just wanted to love her and who didn’t expect perfection.

That’s when Susan became free. Free from guilt. Free from expectations. Before that time she was careful not to offend, not to draw attention to herself, and to always do the right thing. After that time, Susan grew deeper friendships, laughed more and loved more. Her faith became something simple. A simple trust that the God who loved her held her close. That simple faith is what got her through breast cancer and a long road of brain cancer.

Further, after Susan’s stroke and brain surgeries, she had like zero inhibitions. She would sing a silly song for you. All you had to do was ask. She’d make strange faces just for kicks. And hair and make-up weren’t even a consideration. This was definitely not the Susan from before. I know some of this was the effects of brain trauma, but it was the path she was heading down anyway. I’m telling you, she became free.  

So here are my questions for you; Are you a worrier? Are you bound up on the inside? Are you attempting to measure up in some way? You don’t have to. There is a solution. His name is Jesus. And He is a God who offers freedom. The only thing He asks is simple trust – the kind that Susan had.