Heaven's Gain

I am writing tonight with such a heavy heart. I found out this evening that a woman who is by far one of the most beautiful I've ever known passed away today. What made her so absolutely stunning was her heart for Jesus. Because of her amazing love for Him, she loved others in a way I've rarely witnessed. Within minutes of meeting Ms. Debbie I was completely in love with her. Some people would describe her as loud or perhaps even obnoxious. However, I saw a woman who knew exactly who she was in the eyes of her Beloved. Not only did she know who she was to Him, but she saw others as God sees them.

I met Ms. Debbie through a women's ministry called LIFT. The group meets once a month and any time I missed a meeting I knew I would have a Facebook message within a day or two from her asking why I had not been at the meeting. Every message or comment from her contained "God's Little Girl...." The last message she wrote read: "

"Grace and peace be with you God's little girl! Karen, God bless you for blessing me! You are a gift from God! Thank you for showing me the love of Jesus!"

These kinds of posts were always made randomly from Ms. Debbie. When I read the one above I have to laugh to myself because I don't think Ms. Debbie ever truly realized how much of a blessing she was to me and how she exuded Jesus' love from every pore of her being. She truly lit up a room with her presence. She recently married a man she adored and she always encouraged me in my singleness. She would remind me God has an amazing man already picked out for me and to never give up that hope. She was an example of this!

She and I had several conversations where she explained her lack of formal education or would talk about how much she didn't know about life. Spelling was definitely not her gift. But what she did know was Jesus and to her that was more than enough. On her last birthday I brought her a simple flower and she reacted as if I had given her dozens of roses. Ms. Debbie appreciated things in life that so many of us take for granted. She told me of how she worked and saved in order to buy her first car. She knew it wasn't that fancy of a car, but she had paid for it herself and was so proud of it. She was adorable driving it too!

She worked as a parking attendant uptown and shared with me how much she loved her job because it allowed her to have conversations with so many people. She talked about the homeless people she had come to know and the conversations she had with people about Jesus. She knew it could get her fired, but she didn't care. According to her, "these people just HAVE to know about Jesus!" Anyone who knows her just read that statement in her truly country accent. Her way of speech was part of what made her so precious to me.

I can smile as I think of Ms. Debbie now because her life's dream has happened. She is with Jesus. Oh, what a meeting that must have been! As the tears fall from my eyes at the loss of one so beautiful here on earth, my heart rejoices for her. For every heartache she experienced here on earth, those wounds have been fully healed. I have absolutely NO doubt of where Ms. Debbie is spending her eternity.

"So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord." 2 Corinthians 5:6-8

My prayers are with her family during this time. Ms. Debbie was only a small piece in my life puzzle, and yet has left a huge void with her homecoming. I know it will take many women to fill the shoes she has left behind. And yet, I know there are many who were impacted greatly by her and are willing to take up that challenge. If we all got even a tiny bit of her joy, the whole world would be changed. I think it's a challenge I want to accept. Who is with me?