LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – A Lubbock family says \u201cCome and see what God has done\u201d has become an overarching theme in their life and in their mission to honor people who make a difference. Missy Hall\u2019s Christmas tree memorial and prayer house has expanded once again, in its fifth year open.<\/p>\n
The Difference Maker Project, created by Hall in 2021<\/a>, began as a way to honor \u201cdifference makers\u201d in her life who could no longer be present for the holidays. It\u2019s grown every year after that, moving to a fence full of names in 2022<\/a>, a forest of more than a hundred trees in 2023<\/a>, and adding a prayer house in 2024<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWe had so many people come last year and just tell their story and pray and sometimes cry and sometimes laugh. And it was such a lovely experience. We got to see all the hallelujahs last year and it was so great,\u201d Hall said.<\/p>\n This year, a generous donor provided $50,000 for groundscaping with turf and a pathway, creating what Hall calls a more inviting experience.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want people to feel like they can just pause and find serenity and peace and all of those emotions, as well as the good moments and the joy and the hallelujahs, too,\u201d Hall said.<\/p>\n Hall said the project has evolved beyond memorializing those who have died, with ornaments also honoring living difference makers in the prayer house.<\/p>\n \u201cLast year, we kind of tried to help people focus on, it\u2019s not just about death. Difference makers in your lives don\u2019t have to have already passed on. I mean, Susan is a massive difference maker in my life,\u201d Hall said.<\/p>\n Susan Gillispie has supported the project from the beginning. Her husband Joe was one of the original \u201cdifference makers\u201d honored at the memorial. Joe, a longtime volunteer firefighter, died from lung cancer.<\/p>\n While grieving, Gillispie discovered a calling to minister to others experiencing similar loss.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you\u2019re in that place, you learn that along with sorrow can be joy. And that is such a hard concept because so many people think joy just means happy. But to be joyful in the midst of hard grief is seeing that God loves you, that God is with you, and that God is faithful,\u201d Gillispie said.<\/p>\n Just like the life of the project has changed over the last five years, so has Gillispie\u2019s life. Before his death, Joe encouraged her to find love again. After nearly giving up on dating, a family friend who had lost his wife reached out to Gillispie for guidance through grief.<\/p>\n \u201cHe just messaged me and said, how did you do it? And so again, walking with someone through grief. It\u2019s what I had been already doing. And so, we did. It became a beautiful friendship that led to, hey, let\u2019s do this the rest of our lives. Let\u2019s love again and watch what God will do with that,\u201d Gillispie said.<\/p>\n The couple plans to marry after Christmas. Hall says Gillispie\u2019s story exemplifies the project\u2019s motto: \u201cCome and see what God has done.\u201d<\/p>\n