I found out last Friday that a friend had died.  I knew her at a previous church for which I worked.  She had been an insulin dependent diabetic since age 3.  I was always impressed by her personal discipline.  Had she not been, I doubt she would have survived until her late 50’s.

The recent death came on the heels of what the doctors think could have been a stroke or a fast moving infection.  Whatever it was took her life quickly.  Though it was painful to her family to lose her, it was actually a grace.  She did not have to exist in a hospital or go through lengthy suffering.

She was a person of great faith.  So if she had known she was coming to the moment of her death, I think she would have said, “This is the moment I have been getting ready for.”  All of us who knew her watched her live with great spiritual integrity and hope.  Death was just another stage of her journey toward God.

So on the day before Thanksgiving I will have the blessing of talking about her life.  It will be a pleasure because of the inspiration and hope she gives me.  She died in victory.