May 05, 2009

The World Lost Another Good One

No attempted satire or humor today. To quote Mike Myers as Linda Richman, "I'm a little verklempt."

Today was the funeral of a dear lady who died from cancer. She was first diagnosed with breast cancer about four years ago. She beat that, or at least the doctors thought she beat it, but about a year later, it was back. Since she told me she had it the second time, I have been asking why. Why her? Why again? Why weren't our prayers answered? I know that God is in control of our lives, and He has known what will happen from the beginning of our lives, but there are still so many unanswered questions. I just have to remind myself of this verse from Romans 8:28.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

This dear lady was an internet friend who I was lucky enough to meet in person. She lived in my area and we had met in person before her illness. Besides the common interest that brought us to the same message board, our children had a common interest that we talked about. We chatted mostly by email but often by phone too.

When you see only what a person writes online or talk to them occasionally on the phone, you often don't get a real picture of them. What I saw about this woman was her love for her family, her thrifty values, and her helpful nature. What I heard from everyone who spoke at the funeral today reinforced that picture, and I was grateful that I had had a chance to know her. Several people who spoke said she looked for people to help, even people she didn't know. One man likened her to a man who said his daily prayer was that God would lead him to someone who needed his help each day. This person I was lucky enough to call friend did indeed have service as her gift of the Spirit.

Another common interest we shared was John Denver. I don't know which song was her favorite, so I picked one for her today.

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