Proverbs 17:17
A friend loves at all times.
This is Beverly with her husband Gary. I’m sorry it is sideways! I could not get it to turn for me!!
I did not know Beverly, but I felt like I did. My husband would tell me about her at times when we each shared memories about friends from our past.
She was a school and church friend-that happened to be the Pastor’s daughter. My husband and Beverly became friends as they both attenden the same school functions, and church functions. They hit it off and enjoyed each others company. When they were not yet at an age where they could date, their friendship was sweet and accepted by their families. As they got older, there was some resistance from her family when my husband asked to take her to a school function. That resistance, and their obedience to their parents stopped that blooming friendship right at the bud!
Both went on with their lives. He went to Penn State, she moved out of the area and went to college. He asked me out, after he finished college-and the rest is the history of our 48 years of marriage. She met and married a man when she went to college in Florida. He became a Pastor.
Beverly had four daughters and then she and Gary adopted another girl, and they raised her. Gary eventually developed Lou Gerig’s disease and slowly and painfully progressed to a bedridden shell of his former self.
Sometime through the years, several years ago now, my husband re-connected with Beverly, and they wrote back and forth to each other. Beverly was a prolific writer. She reminisced about the school days, the church youth group, her children, the stress with her husband’s illness, and many other topics. he would tell her about all the things that we were doing as well. He would give me updates on what was going on with them, and Beverly always gave me a shout out!
Gary suffered with Lou Gerig’s for 12 years before he passed away. Bev took care of him through it all. I always admired her stamina and resilience. She continued writing to my husband about her grief journey, and her new normal. But she began having issues of her own with her health. She would often write of falls and doctor visits. Of course, we only knew what she wanted us to know.
Sadly, a week or so ago my husband received a call from Beverly’s oldest daughter. Beverly had passed away in the night, her daughter found her. There were many more health issues that she suffered with, but she kept her wit and her humor through it all. In the last letter she talked about issues she was having with her health again. He received the letter after she died, it was waiting to go out in the mail, so her daughter sent it. It was very odd reading it when she was not living any longer.
I am saddened by this, as is my husband, of course. It is difficult to hear of a childhood friend passing away. Even more difficult to me is that I never got to meet or know this amazing woman of God who went through so much in her life, and kept going. Rest now in the arms of Jesus, Bev, and I will come to meet you-someday!
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