One Petal At a time.


I have a dear friend, who lost her fiance in an accident in early years,,,,she met a wonderful man later  and married this man rather late in her life... in today's standard.. she was past 50 but she was a princess,,,and I adored her and enjoyed seeing how happy she was.
Her happiness was interrupted suddenly a few years after her marriage by her illness that none of us really fully understood. But it was cancer and it took energy out of her and out of him. He was so dedicated to stick by her side and to support her in anyway he could, although this was his second marriage and his first wife also left him due to cancer. This man is a special man in my book,,,, he is a saint.

I had a special and dear friendship with this friend, Beverly. I remember the first time she shared with me that she thinks she met the man of her dreams.....I remember the first time she and her hubby went out on their date. She was precious and he was, too. He took things very seriously and he was so committed to proceed with his relationship while maintaining the integrity that Beverly stood for.

I was honored to be asked to perform at her wedding with another friend and I played "Sheep may Safely Graze"   by Bach.  I was SOOO incredibly happy for this dearest friend for her happiness with her husband.

A bit shy of two years after their marriage, she was diagnosed with Cancer. She fought gracefully and elegantly and she took her last breath last night close to midnight. Her journey was complete. She gave her family and friends some time to spend time on "anticipatory grieving". I was able to see her 3 times in the last 5 days of her life.

This is what I posted on Facebook today.__________________

Beverly lived through her illness during the last three years with grace. My dear friend always reminded me of a delicate and dainty flower. But in the last few days, she reminded me of a bold hibiscus that looks up at the sunny sky all day and gently closes the petals as the dusk approaches, one petal at a time. Her presence in my life always taught me and reminded me of what character traits I didn't have. She was incredibly sweet, kind, patient, and trusting, even when things did not look promising. I rejoice in my heart for the beauty of her life and how complete it was, in spite of my personal wish that was not granted to keep her with us a bit longer. As she completed her course, she left behind memories and memories of her gentle and joyful spirit. She was a dear friend and I was blessed that our paths crossed 15 years ago. I am thankful for the several visits I was able to have during her last 5 days of her life while I was in Nashville. Her peace gave me such a peace that is beyond our understanding.When I told her that "Your Peace gives me such a peace". she said, it was rewarding to hear that...

When I saw her in January, she was sharing with me how it was so important to her that she would participate in the Christmas Choir program at Covenant and she was so thankful that she had the energy between her chemo to participate and sing in the choir program!!! She gave me the program and handed me the recording and we listened to it together. She was so cute,, intrigued by the sound quality of my high tech ear phone that I asked her to try.....She then asked me if I knew how to make CD copies because she wanted to send the CD to some of her friends who lived far that could not come to the program to hear her in person. That night, after she and her hubby retired for the night, I made several copies on her Mac and she was delighted to find a stack of copied CDs at her MAC the next morning. I think she knew how special this CD was going to be for many of her friends including me. I so cherish this Christmas CD!
In late April, after our dinner out together at Cheese Cake Factory in Green Hills, (by the way, this was our special place and she and her husband and I had dinner here numerous times during the last 5 yrs. She had the first date with her hubby there, too) she asked her hubby, if he could take a photo of us in front of the flowers outside with her new iPhone. She was quite insistent in her usual cute way. After he took a few photos of us, I got the nerve and said, " then, I want to take a photo of two of you",,,,deeply in my heart, feeling that she was aware of our needs of these momentos.......so her iPhone has many such treasure pieces for her family to enjoy......As I watched a butterfly flutters from one flower to another, I could just imagine how free she is of all the burden that concerns us while on earth, such as a major illness. She is free..... so ALL is WELL like she said.....she is right.
_________

I thank Beverly for the friendship and her care for my family especially my son whom she has known since he was three....I admire her elegant exit from this earth,,, she was like a beautiful butterfly...... I am sharing some photos that reminds me of her. She fluttered away from us, but I know it is for a fleeting moment. Every time I see a butterfly visit, I will be reminded of how free she is today.  I hope that you would agree that some of the photos that I selected do reflect the image of Beverly.







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