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Walking into the Dustin Michael Sekula Memorial Library in Edinburg will always be painful for Lisa Sekula.

"Sometimes it's a little bit harder," she said.  "Some days I don't want to walk through here... But there's some much that Dusty stood for."

Lance Corporal Sekula died in combat back in 2004.

The Marine came under enemy fire while serving in Iraq.

Fresh out of Edinburg North High School, his mother Lisa knows the war was his destiny.

"Dusty's life was significant in God's eyes... The Sekula family was blessed to have him even if only for 18 years," Lisa said.

Dustin was the first from Hidalgo County to die in the Iraq war.

The library pays tribute to the Edinburg native's life.

Lisa's strength comes from knowing that every facet of the library is inspired with the essence of who her son was and what was important in his life.

"Dusty had those color eyes... It was kind of a blue gray."

But more than just the interior color scheme is the library's heart and soul.

Computers help connect the public to the world.

Dustin's mom says her son would often push her and his father to learn how to use them so they could better communicate overseas.

Aisles of books, too countless in number, symbolize Dustin's never-ending passion for reading.

A children's wing is now an extension of Dustin's nature for community outreach, according to his mother.

Lisa is especially fond of the mural at the entrance.

It's easy to see why.     

"This is depicting Dusty," she said while pointing at a picture of a child with a horse.  "He's got his bandana, his hat and his boots and this is his horse."

Dustin's life was lost so that other lives could be enriched.

It's hard to imagine, but Lisa believes it was her son's ultimate purpose.

The events that unfolded on September 11th, 2001 put those wheels in motion, according to Lisa.

Ryan Wolf: Your son had an opportunity to further his education with a scholarship but turned it all down for Country... How does that make you feel?

Lisa Sekula: Very proud... He's my hero and most parents want to be the hero... But in our family... Dusty was the role model.

He can also be a role model to every person who walks through the library's doors.

Whether it is a glimpse at Dustin's favorite boots, his uniform or testimony of faith that’s enshrined in a case at the entrance, Dustin's memory will never die.

That gives this military mother every reason to look forward to another day.

"I see the sun come into my room... I am reminded that God's given me another day and I have to run with it."