This is my friend, Jackie. I wish I had a better picture of her-- I've been feeling the need to scrapbook about her. Jackie died in 1999 of cancer at the age of 29. Her ability to share God's love and her faith with others was like no one I have ever known. Her smile and simplicity were contagious... in her soft-spoken voice, she always had a way of cutting right to the heart of the matter and was unafraid of what the earthly consequences of the truth might be... she knew God had her back, and that gave her a quiet power.
We served as youth counselors together at a church with an amazing group of youth back then... the faith of those young people was wise beyond their years and they taught me a lot while we were there, too. But, Jackie was the one who touched my life the most from that period of my life, although she might have never even known it-- a fact I still regret. While she was sick in her final days, we had moved back home and I was pregnant with Thomas, our first child. Thomas was born a few months before Jackie died and at her visitation, Jackie's husband, Todd, told us that she had wanted to see him-- another fact I regret.
The point is, I know that Jackie wouldn't want me to feel regret-- she would have let go of this, but I hold onto it. I am so sorry I wasn't a better friend-- I am so sorry I was afraid. I miss her still and when I'm in periods of life when I could use an honest friend who would tell me the way it really is, I miss her terribly. I realize too that this "missing" that I feel is totally selfish and she would tell me that, too. She is still living-- maybe not where I can see or hear her, but she is living an extraordinary life with her Maker-- a much better life than would be spent here-- and that was the very thing she lived here on earth to do-- to live eternally with Him. Even beyond her earthly life, Jackie is still bringing people closer to God, and I know I am not the only one who has been touched by her tremendous life of faith. Along her journey here on earth, she didn't just care about "getting there"-- she cared about others "getting there", too-- and she shared what was most important with more people than she probably even realized. Jackie made a difference. Not just to me, I know, and I want to thank her.
That picture of her might not be perfect, but I think I'll use it anyway...
Thank you, Jackie.
L
15 years ago
1 comments:
I miss Jackie too! I'll be going by her old apartment this evening when I go to the meeting at the Ichthus Office. I think about her each time I'm in Wilmore.
I've heard sermons about Jackie, and since she was in seminary when she first got really sick, I'll bet there are a lot of preachers around the world using the memory of Jackie in their sermons.
Give our "Jackie" a kiss.
-Your Scrubby
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