My long-time friend, Patty, died Sunday. I have known Patty for decades. She and another friend, Vaunda, are the sisters I never had and always wanted.
I am the oldest, Patty was the youngest (by about a decade) and Vaunda is in between. I always figured that I would be the first “to go.” Shortly before she died, Patty said, “It’s not fair that the youngest should go first,” and I agreed with her.
I still agree with her days later. But I also know that Patty lived all the days that were “recorded in [God’s] book.”
“You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.” [Psalm 139:16 NLT]
And she lived her days well, touching many lives with her humor, her enthusiasm and her compassion. She loved her Savior, she loved her family, she loved her friends. She loved life.
And now, I will begin the work of mourning. Every time I want to tell her something, or call her to laugh or cry, I will mourn.
Each of us who loved her will mourn our loss, but we will rejoice in her gain – to be present with the LORD she loved so much.
A.A. Milne wrote: “How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.”
I would revise that a bit, “How blessed I am to have someone that makes saying goodbye so hard.”
