My Dear Friend

My dear friend, Pauline Tate, passed away yesterday.  The picture above was taken when Maxwell was just four days old.  It was such a joy to introduce Pauline to Maxwell and have her bless him so soon after he was born. 

Pauline and I had a saying about our friendship, we said that we were "sisters separated by age."  And we were!  First, we are sisters in the Lord, but secondly, we have a unique connection to each other.  She is someone that I would just have a feeling about, or a dream about, and would call and it would be right when something was happening.  We understood each other without words and could often complete each other's sentences.  This is not a relationship I ever expected to have with someone 56 years my senior, but it was a true blessing.

I first met Pauline early in 2008.  She came to talk to our class at church about having a thriving devotional life.  Before class started we had an ice breaker game to get to know people better.  We were supposed to group up by birthday month and share something about ourselves.  Pauline and I couldn't find anyone with our birth month, so we ended up together.  We instantly connected and I began going to the prayer meeting she had at her house every Tuesday afternoon.  Often times I was the only one who showed up, and those were the best times by far.  Our friendship grew, I learned how to pray all over again, and I was able to soak up all the wisdom this amazing woman had learned from her long and very eventful life.

One of the last times I spoke to Pauline and asked how she was doing, she replied very happily that she was "going home!".  Then, the last thing she said to me was "I'll see you up there!"  She was in great spirits and was looking forward to meeting the One she has spoken with so many times in prayer in person soon.  I am so happy she is now seeing face to face the Lord Jesus.  Yes, I miss my dear friend deeply and can't imagine life without her, but ultimately I am so happy that she is finally home.

There are so many things I have learned from Pauline and I think the best way I can honor her memory is by typing them up and passing them along to others.  This is one of the things she was known for at church -- she always had a handout about something or other!  So, over this next week I will be typing up everything I have gathered these past years and will share it here on the blog.

I love you so much, dear friend!