My Dear Friend, Carmen:

 

I lost a precious friend this week.  Carmen and I used to go to Sunday School together.  There is quite an age difference and we hit it off.  Our lives were quite different also.  Carmen's daughters were grown, she had a career, and although as nice as can be, appeared to be prissy.  (Looks can be deceiving, which is why we (I) shouldn't judge by appearance) Wherefore, I was a stay at home Mom, kids not quite grown up yet and though I'm very talkative, shy at meeting people.  We were just good friends.  Sometimes I would stop to visit Carmen if I was making a trip to Jefferson City.
I called her sometime over the summer and told her next time I had an appointment I would stop by.  She said, "Oh, please do".  I stopped last Tuesday.  I was sure in a state of shock.  I didn't know Carmen had had multiple health issues and major surgery since I spoke with her last.  A girl answered the door and I said I was there to see Carmen.  She said she was in the bedroom.  I thought that was odd, so I asked if Carmen was sick.  She said she wasn't.  I thought Carmen was taking a nap and she would tell her I was there.  She said I could go on in the bedroom.  SHOCK!!  Poor Carmen was in a hospital bed and you could tell she had had a stroke.  (Remember those symptoms so well from Grandpa Andy).  I walked over and held her hand.  Her face lit up and she grasped my hand and held it the whole time I was there.  She tried to talk to me but darn it, I couldn't make out what she was saying as hard as I tried.  I'm sure she felt frustrated.  I went ahead and carried on a conversation about April and my new grandbaby, talked about Shelby's wedding, etc.  She had tears in her eyes as I was leaving and held my hand in a tight grasp.  I am SO GLAD I stopped.  There are times we are in a hurry and think, I'll stop another time.  But I had made up my mind that morning I was stopping.  Whenever you get a nudge to visit someone, that nudge is probably from God.  I have found that to be true more than once.  I will miss Carmen, but I'm glad her suffering on Earth has ended.

I am grateful for the chance friendship I developed with Carmen.