This week I lost a kindred spirit. I met her in college, over 10 years ago now, when I visited a college friend’s home over winter break. She was his mom. And in the decade since I graduated, I lost touch with the friend but never his mother. It was her efforts that kept us connected. In my life she was a cheerleader, frequently offering support and sending messages of encouragement.

In the last decade, she was brave – divorcing, taking on new jobs, moving across the country, and entering seminary – all while being a mom and a middle-aged woman with all the challenges that come with those realities. She was a loud advocate for many people including women and people with disabilities. She was a staunch supporter of her sports teams.

Her death was unexpected. This week my thoughts have been with her children who are without her this Mother’s Day. I have also spent the week reflecting on the positive force she was in my life. I admired her for her fiery spirit and her devotion to the people she loved. As she was a dedicated reader of my blog, I wanted to write a post in her honor.

She believed strongly in God. If the world is what we believe it to be, then she is with her God watching over her children and the others she took under her wing from a new vantage point. May she rest in peace.