It’s a good thing hearts don’t mind roller coasters because mine is on quite a ride.

This weekend, my LeeBird heart is perched on the heights as I help my sweet middle son get snazzed up for prom.

He and his beautiful (inside and out) girl friend, Sabrina, just plain-old love being together, so I know they will have a tremendous time. Her mom is chauffering them from place-to-place, so I know they won’t have too much of a tremendous time…if you know what I mean.

AND…Sabrina’s mom is a professional photographer, so I’ll have some hot diggety dog good pictures to share! Here’s a snapshot I took with my phone to tide you over. Aren’t they a sight to behold?

Sabrina and Logan: Sweetest Couple in the Southwest!

Yes, my momma heart is downright giddy, but my friend heart is heavy and low with ache and concern.

My dear friend, Anita Cassey is lying in her daughter’s guest room as cancer ravages her body. When the cancer showed itself, it was too late to treat it. Hospice is making her as comfortable as possible, but she is still in pain at times. She still sees the heartbreak in her loved ones’ eyes. She still knows that her time here on earth is short. She still frets over all the ministry she still had in mind to do.

Anita loves Jesus. She’s not afraid to die, but she wasn’t expecting to go like this or so soon.

While many folks slow down with age, Anita was still going strong before the cancer. At the age of 74, she had the energy and drive of a 30-year-old.

She attended Celebrate Recovery every, single week and shared hope through hugs, prayers, and deviled eggs.

Several years ago, she asked God for a four-door car so she could give people rides to church. God provided, and she delivered on her promise by driving folks to church, to weeknight events, and to Sunday lunches.

She was a favorite camp counselor for our youth group and others in years past.

Oh, how we miss her at the Heart of Mesa! We miss her hugs at the front door where she stood faithfully as a greeter.

We miss her proud smiles when she said, “I love you to pieces.”

We miss her cookies and cards.

Please pray for Anita Cassey

Anita’s children asked Pastor Gary to fly to Cali to see Anita one last time. He asked me to coordinate a card collection so he can take her many expressions of love and encouragement. I’m bringing a big ol’ basket to church tomorrow, and I’m hoping my H.O.M.ies will fill it up.

Anita was so faithful in sending cards to everyone. I can’t count the number of cards the Merrill mailbox held. She send them to Cliff to encourage him as a worship leader. She sent them to my boys to tell them how proud she was of them. She sent them to me to remind me she was praying.

She wrote to inmates, including my friend Kathleen who ended up attending the Heart of Mesa after she left prison. Kathleen credits Anita for keeping her heart soft toward Jesus during those hard months of incarceration. Now, Kathleen is a recent community college graduate and a soon-to-be student at Eastern Oregon University.

In the eyes of the world, I don’t know if Anita would be called a success, but in the eyes of God and the eyes of people she touched, Anita’s life was as successful as they come.

To quote Ralph Waldo Emerson, “To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.”

Please pray for Anita and her devoted family. It hurts so much to say goodbye. To wonder if she will make it to Mother’s Day. To watch her suffer and not be able to do a thing about it. To know the world will soon lose one of those people we really can’t afford to lose.

This world needs more Anitas. More people who put God first, other people second, and self last. More people who pray out of deep faith in God and give out of deep gratitude to God. More people who love “the least of these” with words and deeds.

I planned to go to the card store tonight to pick out a few to send to Anita, but the Lord took care of it for me. Today, I got an unexpected package from (in)courage. Inside was a package of cards, and some of them have Anita all over them. See what you think.

In hard times she had learned three things--she was strong than she ever imagined, Jesus was closer than she ever realized, and she was loved more than she ever knew.

 

You, my friend, are a reminder that life is marvelous and God is good.

 

 

We laugh, we share, we pray, we care, we learn, we live, we grow, we give. I thank God for you, friend.

And this one is my favorite.

Some people make the world a better place simply by being in it. Thank you.

Isn’t it like the Lord to let that package land on my doorstep today? Thank you, Lord, and thank you, Dayspring for crafting cards that say it “just right.”

As I spend time this evening letting my heart pour free on these cards, I feel both sorrow and joy. I don’t want Anita to leave. I still need her. We all do. But the thought of her Christ’s presence…oh my goodness…I can’t put that vision into words! I wouldn’t want to keep her from such perfection!

So tonight, I pray. I pray for peace and pain-free days and nights. I pray comfort for Anita and her family gathering at her bedside. I pray for grace and for Pastor Gary to deliver our love on cardstock on time.

I pray that I can be more like this magnificent woman.

Will you join me in prayer? Leave your prayers as comments and I’ll pass them on to Anita and her family.

Lord,

Thank you for giving Anita to us. It’s hard to let her go. So hard. Please let her time on earth be pain-free and peaceful. Please continue to give her sweet time with people she loves. Please keep on using her for your glory and fame because that’s what she wants most of all. In the faithful name of Jesus I pray, AMEN