Sweet Souls

Sometimes I have a hard time making sense of things. This week when I heard the sad news that my friend Trish Mooneyham had succumbed to a brain tumor, I really wanted to punch a wall or throw dishes across the room. Who thinks it's fair that a 35 year old woman with 3 school aged children is gone from this earth so early? What makes sense about that? Not understanding it all makes it hurt all the more deeply and if I'm really honest,  knowing it's not my place to ask why makes me even madder. It really makes me want to scream.

I first met Trish when she lived in Wrens and I was the chair of our Relay for Life. Trish was the youth chair. Children naturally gravitated to her and it was a perfect fit for her. Trish devoted a lot of time to the youth ministry at Wrens Baptist. After her health began to be more and more serious, she moved to Waynesboro and I lost touch with her. Luckily she came back into my life when her son Ethan played on Addie's Upward Basketball Team. During this time I really got to know Trish better. We spent many hours on those hard wooden gym bleachers complaining about our numb backsides and talking about things mamas talk about. Never once did Trish mention her cancer, her dim prognosis, or anything of the sort. She knew I knew how grave her condition was, but cancer was not the most important thing in her life. She was so proud of her children but never spoke of them like they were prodigies or geniuses. Rather, she was more proud of their character and their kindness. Addie was the only girl on the basketball team and Ethan was always kind to her and included her. He got that quality from Trish I'm sure. Trish often talked about the love she had for God and how happy she was about her children growing in their own faith. She admired her husband Joel's work ethic.We'd sometimes complain about our husbands leaving dirty socks around the house and just about general things husbands do to irritate their wives. We had a few chuckles over that. However, I remember her telling me once that Joel was the glue that held them all together. I can't think of a better way to describe a good husband. We talked about politics and our insecurities as wives and mothers. Through all of our conversations, Trish never uttered one single word indicating she felt sorry for herself. Although, I'm sure she had private moments where she struggled to understand it all, just like her family and friends are right now, she never showed that to me once. Cancer wasn't nearly as important to her as fully living her life was. I'm glad I knew Trish Mooneyham. I'm a better person for it.  So I know Trish wouldn't want me to be angry, throw dishes or punch walls.  She'd want us to live our lives as she did. With God and our families in the forefront and our troubles and baggage in the secondary. I'm going to do better about that. Farewell, sweet lady. I'll see you on the other side.