It was how I saw her. Physically. Emotionally. Spiritually. She was well. She was well in the way that she lived, the way that she made every person around her feel their worth. She loved well, the way that she offered kindness and grace when they were anything but deserved.
As I lay in my bed keeping watch, joining a community of people praying for her, people who loved her from every corner of the world, it was the only word that could manage to escape as I wept.
Well.
I didn't understand why, in those last weeks, this was the word that my heart cried for her; but it did relentlessly.
In a time in my life where I needed grace, there she was. She prayed scripture over me and spoke truth in my life, like she did for many others. She lived so well.
At her memorial service her husband shared how she continued to intercede on behalf of the other cancer patients in those last weeks, even in her darkest hours. And the song, he said, that she played continuously through those final days, the song that gave her comfort, It Is Well.
In her true character, she went with grace. She went well. And now she is well.
Looking back on the year we will soon leave behind, I look back on much loss. Thankful to have met many on my journey and to have walked with them for a while, even if far too short. As I say goodbye again and again, I am reminded of the uncertainty of life and the certainty of death.
In her life I see a picture of what it means to live well, and as I walk into the new year, that picture of a life well lived is what I will take with me. The urgency to love with the moments we are given.
Well: Thoroughly, completely.
It's my heart's prayer.
As I lay in my bed keeping watch, joining a community of people praying for her, people who loved her from every corner of the world, it was the only word that could manage to escape as I wept.
Well.
I didn't understand why, in those last weeks, this was the word that my heart cried for her; but it did relentlessly.
In a time in my life where I needed grace, there she was. She prayed scripture over me and spoke truth in my life, like she did for many others. She lived so well.
At her memorial service her husband shared how she continued to intercede on behalf of the other cancer patients in those last weeks, even in her darkest hours. And the song, he said, that she played continuously through those final days, the song that gave her comfort, It Is Well.
"Through it all, my eyes are on You, and it is well with me."
In her true character, she went with grace. She went well. And now she is well.
Looking back on the year we will soon leave behind, I look back on much loss. Thankful to have met many on my journey and to have walked with them for a while, even if far too short. As I say goodbye again and again, I am reminded of the uncertainty of life and the certainty of death.
In her life I see a picture of what it means to live well, and as I walk into the new year, that picture of a life well lived is what I will take with me. The urgency to love with the moments we are given.
Well: Thoroughly, completely.
It's my heart's prayer.
Live well.
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| In loving memory of my teacher, mentor, and friend, Rebecca Michelle Carter. |
1 comment:
Sorry for your loss, Rebecca.
This is a beautiful tribute to your friend.
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