The last time I saw Cindy....

I was standing at church today during the worship songs and was momentarily fixated on the keyboard. Cindy use to play the keyboard. I envisioned her playing. I remembered her energy. The way she looked over the top of her glasses out into the crowd of people. The smile on her face when your eyes connected. Then, the sadness overcame me again. The sense of loss. Huge loss.

So, I'm sitting here thinking about the last time I saw Cindy. Jim wanted to take Steve to a Suns game to take his mind off cancer, even for a little while. I was going to go hang out with Cindy for the evening so she wasn't alone. What I thought was just a simple gesture of kindness to the Wyatt's ended up blessing me more than I could have imagined. God knew that would be the last time I would have a chance to sit and talk to Cindy. I did not. God had it all planned out perfectly. I know that now.

Our Friday evening was spent talking about normal things...HGTV, House Hunters, my kids, her kids and grand kids, Steve's incoming text messages, my IBS (LOL), her nausea. You know, basic stuff. At some point that evening Cindy's dear friend Gin arrived to check in on her. I was blessed to witness the selfless love and friendship between the two of them. A wonderful model in friendship for me to see. We talked some more and then it was time for Cindy to go to bed. As Cindy was climbing into bed she asked if we could pray together. We did. Cindy prayed first. She cried out to God to heal her, that she had more work to do here. With tears, Cindy asked God to minister to ME that evening, through our time spent together. I began to cry. I wanted God so badly to answer Cindy's prayer for healing. I couldn't get past the fact that Cindy was praying that God would speak to ME through this ordeal, through her suffering, in that moment. I thought about that moment a lot after our evening together. And, I think about it still today. God showed me, by example, what it means to live a life honoring to Him. In the midst of her darkest days, Cindy's heart was focused on others. Her heart was focused on Him. In one short evening I witnessed unconditional love, joy amidst tragedy, selflessness, and true friendship. Thank you God for that precious night.