My sweet friend Lori, fellow cancer warrior and sister in Jesus Christ died today. Too young to go Home...but that is where she is today. Home.
Home with God.
I don't believe that it is a coincidence that Lori passed away on Veteran's Day...a day that we honor people who bravely have fought in wars for our country. She was a brave warrior. Lori fought very hard, not in a military war but in the war against this horrible disease, cancer. And now she is a victorious warrior. The battle against cancer was lost, but the war has been won already for life everlasting. Death is not the victor. Life is the victor! She has Life and Victory because of the Lamb of God.
O death, where is thy sting? Swallowed up in victory!
Lori did not enlist as a volunteer in this war. This war is different. When you are diagnosed, you are called up into the battle. Basically...drafted. Lori and I were drafted the same year, 2006. She was diagnosed in August, I was diagnosed in October. We did not know each other at all before all this happened to us. We attended the same church. We were both on every prayer list at the churches in our town. We knew of each other, but did not know each other. Then one Sunday morning... we met. We decided to skip Sunday school and we found a quiet corner and talked for a whole hour. It was so good to talk to someone who knew exactly what I was going through. She was quick to tell me some of what she had already experienced since she was 2 months ahead of me, teaching and encouraging me as I stepped onto this battlefield. She was focused and strong in her will to fight for her life. We shared a lot that first year, talking, praying together, sharing moments of tears and rejoicing in the small steps of victory along the way.
But our stories took different paths after that. Her cancer returned and her battle started over again. As a friend and fellow survivor I cheered her on, but this time not alongside her. She began new treatments and tried new options available for her case. With each new road she bravely would try again and fight hard again. She was determined to fight hard for every day on this earth that she could gain. She was amazingly courageous, trusting the Lord through every valley she walked through. My prayers, along with thousands of others, flowed to the throne of God for her body to be healed.
It is healed now. She is healed. No more cancer. No more. Healed.
I am grieving the loss of this precious child of God and sister in Jesus. I know she is Home, I know she is victorious and I know she is healed and at peace. I know, I know, I know. But...I just wasn't ready for her to go home. Just being honest. My heart hurts to lose one more friend to this disease. I am absolutely tired of it...and even angry at the enemy's desire to "steal, kill and destroy". Satan does come at us with all kinds of weapons but we are the victors, ALWAYS. He wins the battles here and there, but he ALWAYS loses the war. We are the victors, in Christ Jesus.
My prayers will continue to go to the throne of God for Lori's family. May the Lord give them strength and comfort and peace in the days and weeks and even years ahead. God is faithful to walk with us through everything.
Thank You, O God, for my precious friend...for the legacy of strength and courage she has left to us all. Please, comfort all who are grieving and let us truly find our strength in the Joy of You, O Lord. You are our Hope, You are our Savior. In life or in death, O God, we will praise You. You alone are God Most High.
In Jesus' Name, Amen.
