My friend Sarah was devoted to the Lord, was a serious student of his word and was a servant to many. She had a passion for missions and served many hours in support of that passion, including a trip to Mexico.

She was also a very good neighbor, friend and sister in the Lord to my husband and I - and a member of our church, Impact Christian Fellowship.

We met when we were both newbies to our church. Then we became across-the-street neighbors. We worshipped together, attended meetings together, helped each other out here and there, and had many quiet walks together and some great adventures. She came to our family reunion and held the youngest member of our family while the rest of us helped the older children fish.

I look at the dark house across the street and it is a constant reminder that she is missing from my life. But then I think of where she is and how filled she is with joy there, and I can't remain sad. I wrote earlier about the pain surrounding her death, now I want to share the happiness I had in being her friend.

The stories below appeared earlier in a blog I write that is mostly about life in Scenic Valley, where I live and where Sarah lived, in the TX Hill Country.

Written 8-07-06

We were out for a drive to enjoy the rural countryside in Kerr County. Sarah, our friend and neighbor, was driving in her black SUV. Suddenly, we came upon a dramatic scene: on our left we saw a fawn running as if for its life. On our right two massive farm dogs of mixed breed were keeping pace with the fawn but were restrained by a sturdy fence.

OPEN GATE = DANGER

In the pasture with the dogs, someone was baling hay and the hay balers had left the gate open for easy access to the road. The fawn was safe as long as he kept going straight but for some reason he turned around and headed in the opposite direction. When he turned back, so did the dogs.

SARAH'S SUV FILLS THE GAP!

I thought Sarah had lost her mind when she quickly threw the car into reverse and started backing up on the public road fast as she could. Quick-thinking Sarah had immediately noticed the danger: the dogs were headed for the open gate. Once out, they could do as they pleased with the fawn, for the fence on his side of the road - the other side from the dogs - appeared impenetrable. He would be trapped.

Caught up in the fawn's emergency, we all called out to him, as if that would help! But Sarah did something better. That's why she was backing up the SUV as quick as she could. At first I thought she did it just to continue to see where the fawn was going but then I realized she meant to cut the dogs off. They were right alongside of us and it was a toss-up if we would get to the gate before they did. But we made it! Just in the nick of time, she backed into the gate, neatly closing the entrance so that the dogs could not get out.

FENCED OUT?

We thought the fawn was home free but, strangely, he turned around and headed back in the direction he came from. The dogs turned back that way, too, and since they were no longer interested in the gate, Sarah pulled out and drove slowly so we could continue to watch the fawn and encourage him (not that he knew that!). Since he wasn't very old I kept wondering where his mother was. My husband worried that as hot as it was and as small as he was, he could die of heat exhaustion if he continued to run back and forth with all his might, breathing heavily.

When he got to a certain section of the fence he turned back. We were afraid he was headed back to the danger of the open gate but instead he quickly double-backed again. He did this several times, going back and forth, back and forth, and it became obvious to us that he was looking for a way through the fence that he expected to be there.

It was a well-built fence designed to keep deer out and to us it looked like an impossible barrier to overcome. But he kept looking, certain of what he remembered and confident he would find it. We agonized with him and worried about the dogs and the open gate.

HOME FREE!

Then suddenly, he slipped underneath and was bounding on the other side, white tail waving. (Home to Momma, I thought.) Whew! We were thrilled but exhausted from living his adventure with him.

FIREWORKS IN THE SKY

Written 9-16-06

Last night Sarah and I walked at twilight. First we checked out the northwest side of the creek, where a deer herd feeds. Then we walked over the dam and inventoried the resident birds of our lake.

Our walks are never complete until we locate and count each one. Six swans? Check! Two domestic ducks? Check! Five mallards? Where? There!

It was dark when we ended our walk on her deck. Sarah's deck is up against the side of a hill that filters out light and is almost secluded so that it makes an excellent star-gazing platform. So we sat there, contemplating the clarity of the star-laden sky. Sarah says any night she is out star-gazing, she never fails to see a shooting star. She told me that when her husband died after a long illness, she would sit on the deck at night and fellowship with God and he would comfort her by showing her shooting stars.

She's good at spotting them (she was tutored by the Best!) and usually sees some that I don't. But not this night! I stretched out, face up and counted five. Wow! And the last one? Unbelievable. It was wide and long and burst into orange-red flames just as it came to the horizon. I've never seen anything like it! Lord, thank you for this beautiful and exciting night in Sarah's company.

Shooting Star photo by J P Stanley @flickrCC

deer photo by xtoq@fCC