Remembering Rachel Part 2

Just the other day, something personal happened and I wanted to talk it through with someone.  I was babysitting a friend's adorable baby, so I was kind of occupied all day.  After the sweet baby went home, I ran to the store.  Trips alone in solitude are usually the time that I would call Rachel and talk things through with her.  (I remember she'd often answer the phone "hello chica")  It's hard to talk uninterrupted when you have a 7 year old.  Funny thing is that getting on the phone immediately spurs an involuntary alarm in your child's brain that they need their mom.  Now. Not later. Yes, it is an emergency.  You get the point. I finished my quick shopping trip and sat down in my car.  Truly in an involuntary response, I picked up my phone to call Rachel. Before I hit my contacts list, I remembered that I can't call her.  I drove home that afternoon with the music off and in silence.  I'm praying to soon get to a point that I have those moments and smile.  Smile because I had Rachel in my life.  She was a wonderful part of my life.  Not many people can say that they had a friend like Rachel.  I can.  I need to be thankful that she was part of my life, and grateful that I will see her again when it's my turn to meet Jesus.

Rachel loved to play games.  She loved competition and was always good at almost every game.  It was hard to beat Rachel.  You quickly realized that if you wanted to win, you'd better get on Rachel's team. In fact, Paul and I were playing a game with Rachel and Dennis once when we were visiting the Orlando area.  Austin was just a baby.  Rachel and I were playing against Dennis and Paul.  Rachel and I were absolutely beating the pants off of Paul and Dennis.  The guys started laughing, really hard, about their demise in the game.  Paul fell backwards and passed out.  All of the sudden, it wasn't funny anymore.  When he woke up, I took him to the ER. Paul ended up being okay.  He pinched a nerve that caused him to pass out.  This was all from laughing too hard.  While I took Paul to the ER, Rachel and Dennis stayed in our hotel room with Austin.  They didn't have a problem, and gave up their own comfort to sleep the majority of night in our room so we could make sure Paul was okay.  That's the kind of friend Rachel was, the kind who was always loving and selfless.

Last night, Dennis hosted a game night in honor of Rachel.  To be honest, I was a bit nervous that I might be sad while I was at Rachel and Dennis' house.  I didn't want to ruin the party with my tears.  Instead of the night being an evening of sadness, it ended up being a really fun time.  It was a great time of laughing a lot with her family and friends.  It was good to see Dennis.  I even got to see the last scrapbook that Rachel was working on.  The last time I left her house, I was sobbing all the way to the car.  This time, I left with a smile. A smile of gratefulness for her friendship.  I will always miss my friend.  Today, I'm grateful for her.  I'm so thankful I got to have a friend like Rachel.  It ended way too soon, but I'm so thankful that I had the 11 years with her that I did.  'Till we meet again in the arms of Jesus, I'll always cherish you in my heart Rachel.