Esther

I'm not talking about the Biblical icon -- the Queen who defied everyone to protect her people. I'm talking about a sweet, Christian cousin whose life was cut short due to a heart problem.

According to her sister, Bette, Esther was really pigeon-toed. Bette could wear all of her clothes (which she borrowed frequently), but never her shoes. She had an adorable figure. We all loved her laugh. (I share the pigeon toed gene with her).

She had such a difficult life with her heart congestion. In the end, she drowned in her own body fluids and was dead before she hit the floor.

She loved the Lord, which was the most important thing. She was funny, like all the Evangelistas are -- where the humor comes from and is part and parcel of each member of that family, I don't know, but it sure makes being around them very enjoyable.

As I've written before, dear Esther was taken Home on a Monday afternoon and I was told about her passing just before our weekly Hi-BA meeting (Hi-BA stood for Highschool born againers). I was sad, but couldn't cry. However when I went to her funeral the floodgates opened and I did cry for MY loss, her gain was that she was no longer in pain. She was only 35 when she died.

As the Apostle Paul put it: I would rather be absent from the body and present with the Lord.