To Connie with Joy!

I've been thinking about my friend Connie this week. She passed away just a year ago, from cancer. She had more joy in her heart than anyone I've ever met. She loved life and she loved her Lord. Whatever He had in mind, she accepted with grace, dignity, and a special joy. Her joy was contagious and she apparently had an overabundance because she shared her joy with everyone and like loaves & fishes, it grew and grew.

Having a bad day (or thought you were)? Somehow, Connie knew. More than once I found a card in my mailbox on just the day I needed it most. Sometimes a thank you, sometimes words of encouragement. Or the phone would ring and she'd ask a favor. The favor always did more for me than it took from me. And it wasn't just me; she had this knack with so many of us. She'd let us think we were the ones giving and later we'd realize that we were the ones who were filled with gratitude.

She loved her family. She loved her home. She loved her dog, Rosie. She loved watching the geese that wandered around outside her home. She loved her Starbucks. She loved sitting on her porch watching the plants and the birds and the sky and the clouds. And she loved writing about all these things. When cabin fever would set in she loved car rides, especially around the lake.

Connie, we miss the way your eyes lit up when you smiled and the way you made every day so special. We miss you, we all still love you and we still feel your joy as you smile down on us.