Yesterday, my beautiful friend and sister in Christ, Diane, went home to be with Jesus. I have never lost a close friend before....my emotions are everywhere. I am human and my human self misses my friend and is consumed with sadness that I will not be in her space again on this earth. While other parts of me knows that she is in the presence of Jesus....she has seen the face of Jesus and heard Him say "Well done good and faithful servant, welcome Home." This part of me is envious because she is now where I long to be - with Jesus. I am also so excited for her, because she is Home and she can now breathe and go on long walks and run if she wants to, she can sing great praises without getting winded.....she is whole, she is healed, she is perfect. Praise You, Father! I want to introduce you to her......I wish you could have known her. This is Diane and her sweet husband, Joe. They loved each other fiercely and beautifully modeled a Godly marriage.
Diane came into our lives 3 years ago....I remember the day I met her - eating tacos! :) I loved her immediately!
Much like myself, Diane has a beautiful story of redemption and God pulling her out of a pit of darkness.....our pits were equally enormous but our God is mighty to save! She was a woman in love with and on fire for her Lord ever since, never looking back!
Diane had a peace and calm about her that you do not encounter very often.....of course, we know where that came from. She had such a gentle and caring spirit. Her concern for others was very real....if she said she was praying for you, she was most certainly standing in the gap for you! She was always praying with and praying for people....I loved praying with her.
I loved giggling with her, she had the best sense of humor! We always always sat together in Bible studies and we would giggle and crack funnies.
I loved singing praises and worshiping with her.....God rescued us from much and we could do nothing but worship and fall at His feet. Many times in tears because of what He has done for us, recognizing we'd be lost without Him!
How wise she was....goodness was she in God's Word and always had wise words to share. We'd discuss many of the things in our studies - she challenged me and made me think.
Over and over this past week, the two words that kept coming to my mind were grace and humility. These words describe my friend to a T!
When Diane was younger, she became ill with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). This made it so very hard for her to breathe, every single day was a struggle for air. She did not let this disease define her! She rested in her Savior and drew every ounce of strength from Him.
Grace - she never complained, she was always thankful and always happy....she modeled grace even through such a struggle as this. The only times I ever heard her say anything about it was if we were in a prayer group or a discussion and we'd go around and ask for requests, she would smile her sweet smile and humbly say....new lungs.
I miss her.
These are just a few of the fun times we had together. I think we'd just had some tacos in the bottom right pic. :)
This is Diane and Kelly, they are best friends - peas and carrots - Thelma and Louise.
I was able to be at the hospital Tuesday to tell my friend how much I love her and pray over her....I hope she heard me. It was hard to see a machine breathing for her and all the tubes and wires....her face was peaceful and I know her heart was happy and ready and excited.
All week I have been witness to how well Kelly has loved Diane.....how fiercely she has loved her and prayed for her, prayed over her, talked to her, sang to her - forever in her corner. It has been one of the most beautiful things I have been witness to. I held her hand and told her last night....God brought Diane to you for a short time to love and bring joy to and you exceeded in doing so! I hope that when I am where Diane was that someone will love on me as fiercely as you did and that I will be that person for others.
What are we supposed to do now?
How do we deal with the sadness?
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. ~ Matthew 5:4
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. ~ Psalm 34:18
I do not know how in the world people go through hard times without the comfort of the Lord! We will take refuge in and abide in the love of our Father and we will rest in His promises! His promises tell us that we will see our sister again and I look forward to that day....when we all get to Heaven what a day of rejoicing that will be! If Diane were whispering in my ear, anything she would want to share, above all else - she would want you to know Jesus! To know that He died for your sins, He died in your place - That if you just believe, your future will be secure, just as hers is secure. Diane loves Jesus and she lived for Him and she shared Him with everyone! Now she is with Him for all of eternity - everlasting! Father, thank You for sharing Diane with us, if only for a short time. Thank You for the impact that she left on all of us. Thank you for the example of a beautiful life lived....may we strive to live a beautiful life just as our sister did. Father, be glorified above all else. In Jesus Saving Name, Amen.
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