Friday, September 20, 2013

To Gail, With Love...

Five Minute Friday ~ SHE

I don't know about you, but for me, it was a long week!  Thank God it's Friday! And thank God for Five Minute Friday.  The writing prompt for today is SHE. Whatever wells up in your spirit on this prompt, go for it! 5 minutes, no editing, no worries, just WRITE!  And then link up below to share your masterpiece with other writers, get some love (encouragement) and share some love as well! Ready? GO!
Five Minute Friday









1995.  With her, I never saw “it” and I fully expected to – I had heard all of the horrific stories about that dreadful disease and how “it” destroyed people beyond recognition.  But, from the moment I met her, I recognized her. 

                         She was beauty. 

                        She was strength.  

                       She was courage.  

                      She was laughter.  

                      She was genuine 
                               and 
                      she was a free spirit.  

Except for the nasal cannula across her face, I would have never known that she was sick – very sick.  Would have never known that “it” had spread throughout her body and was at work on her demise….

I loved visiting her. We were new friends who felt like old friends – her eyes would light up with a smile, her embrace was genuine and lingering.  Whenever I visited, she made it easy for me to arrest my unspoken curiosity and fears about it because she never talked about it; it never mattered to her – and thus, it didn't matter to me.  And although it had power in her body, it never had power in her spirit or in her life.   It didn't change who she was.

 Later that year, she died,and I wept uncontrollably for  the loss of my sister-friend.




Over the years, as I remember her, it’s not in sadness and mourning, but rather in celebration of her vibrancy and the brevity of her spirit.  By the example of her living, she showed us all how to die in the most beautiful way – with His perfect peace and in the fullness of His grace.

"But by the grace of God, I am what I am and His grace to me was not without effect.  No, I worked harder than all of them - yet, not I, but the grace of God that was with me."  1 Corinthians 15:10

2 comments:

bluecottonmemory said...

"New friends who feel like old friends" - oh, those are gifts from the Father:) The beauty of when friends pass down heart things - it's a ripple effect - isn't! Sweet she-post:) So glad you shared it!

Renaissance Women said...

Hi Dena. Thank you for visiting me over at Renaissance Women. What a powerful beautiful piece. What a blessing you were and a good friend. I pray the Lord will return to you in abundance what you gifted to Gail so lovingly and so freely.

God Bless You and I am so glad to know you.

~ Cassandra from Renaissance Women