Memories & Lessons

It's been a while.  I just noticed I haven't been to the neighborhood since April.
The last time I was here I wrote my post and scheduled it to go live on May 1st,
I had no idea my life would change that very weekend.

You see, on April 29 I lost a very close friend.
I would even venture to say she was my BFF.
However, she was the type of person who had many BFF's because
that's the way she made everyone feel when they were around her.

Johanna loved people and she made it a point to cherish
everyone in her life.

That was her one little word for 2018, "cherish".
She said, "In 2018 I want to focus on cherishing my family and my friends."

If you've followed me for a while, you might remember Johanna.
She and I took a road trip in 2016.
We drove to Waco, Texas to visit her daughter at Baylor University.
We made a short stop in New Orleans.
Wow!  I remember I almost told her I couldn't go with her.

It was the end of the school year and I was late that year 

organizing and closing my class for the summer.  

She was leaving that very weekend. 

It was my husband who encouraged me to go. 

He said, "This is your chance to see the Silos! 

Just fix your class when you get back." 

So, I went.  Soooooo, glad I did. 

I spoke to her two days before she went to heaven.
We had no clue, not even the slightest that would be
the last conversation we'd have.

There are some things I've known in theory
that are now all too real.

Tomorrow is not promised to any of us,
all we have is right now.
We put things off saying,
we'll get to them tomorrow. (Sigh)
We worry about things, 

sometimes small things that appear monstrous 

and in the end do not mean as much as we think they do. 

We are so connected to each other that when one of us is gone,
the world changes.

I've also learned that God is the author of our story.
He uses our choices, our circumstances and our experiences to unfold the plot.
And, in the end, the most valuable detail of our life is not what we did,
or accomplished, but rather, how well we loved people.
How well we showed Jesus to others.

Johanna passed both tests well.
We all saw Jesus in her and through her,
and she loved her God, her family, and friends intentionally.

I don't know why she didn't have more time with us.
I don't have the answer.
I've stopped asking.
All I know is this, we have but one life to live,
let's live it loving others well.
Everything else is secondary.

This is her legacy.

Adios, Johanna,
mi amiga.