Wendy and I met the first month I moved to Brownwood.  I had just transferred to Howard Payne University and was newly employed at The Busy Bee.

Picture any small town Texas greasy-spoon.  I learned a lot about life (from the “old farts” who leave a quarter as a tip after 4 hours of coffee refills and fried pickles to short order cooks who sabotage uppity 20 year old university student-waitresses who are too big for their denim aprons and country music hits of the early 90s) at The Busy Bee… and Wendy was my guide.

We moved on to the newly opened Hastings Books and Music together and spent countless evenings playing spades, watching movies, laughing, and crying as we celebrated and grieved with one another at HPU and in the years that followed.  She was my confidant and was certainly a source of strength for me.

I learned this morning that Wendy, 42, died unexpected yesterday evening.  She’s survived by her parents, her husband James, the adult children she welcomed into her heart when they married almost 3 years ago, and several grandchildren.

I’m not surprised in the least, as I read memories that others have posted, that there are dozens of others who, like me, considered her a “best friend”.

I hope she knew how much she meant to me.  I hope she was aware of how many lives, cumulatively, were enriched by her short life and the love and attention she gave to so many in her many circles throughout the years.

My thoughts have certainly wandered in a couple directions today…

First, I’ve been thinking about my daughter.

She’s 13 and it’s hard to watch her wrestle with her significance in life.  How do I help her treasure and meditate on the things The Lord says about her and the promises He has in store for her?

I remember 13 being tough.  Add to what I remember the messages today’s teens are expected to process with wisdom few of us have until much later in life.

Not only do I question how to help her realize her unlimited potential but I question how to help her realize that each one of her interactions with another person will leave a mark.  Not just another person but another’s influence certainly leaves an impression.  How do I help her process which interactions and influences are edifying and worthy of meditation and which are lies that are meant to steal joy from her life?

And I’ve certainly thought of the short life we live, in general.

I wonder if you know how important YOU really are?  From friends and acquaintances past and present… YOU really do matter.

I do, too and I’m left wondering if I’ll be remembered for my love and encouragement, like Wendy, or my less kind and generous words and deeds.

What an opportunity we have, every day, to be a blessing.  I pray the cumulative impact of our lives brings light and laughter into our many circles… like Wendy’s did.