When I think of her, many wonderful words come to mind…
kind, grateful, so very encouraging, and immensely positive. She loved her family so much and enjoyed life
to the fullest. She was intentional in
the way she lived her life – making her days count. She said to me on many occasions that she was
in Act III of her life and she wanted it to mean something.
Well, she meant a lot to me and to so many others. I met her almost 9 years ago when I started
attending the same church as her. We met
through women’s ministry and I got to know her well when the team began
thinking about how to implement a women’s mentoring program. We were having a hard time figuring out how
to get it started since most of us had never had or been a mentor. I mentioned that I had always wanted one and
had even prayed for one. She called me a
few days after that conversation and said, “I think God wants me to be your
mentor. Would you like to start meeting
together regularly?” I was overjoyed
and excited to begin this new adventure.
Over a 2-3 year period, we met regularly. She had me in her home, usually for a
delicious meal. I remember that she always
had cloth napkins; it was one of her ways to make me feel extra special. The food and hospitality were wonderful, but
the most meaningful thing to me was the time we spent talking and praying.
She made a huge impact on my life because she took in
interest in my life. She made time for
me. She was relational, she asked me
questions about my life, and she prayed for me – nothing was off the table to
talk about. She was so encouraging; sometimes we laughed and sometimes we cried.
But I always left her home feeling encouraged to keep going and pursuing
my faith and to keep persevering as a wife and mother. She was so positive and I felt loved and
cared for by her.
She touched my life in an amazing way and I am a much better
person for having known her and having spent time with her. She influenced me in many different
ways: She inspired me to be a better
friend to others by being a better listener.
She modeled to me the kind of
friend I should be. She made me aware
that I need to be intentional with my life, making my days count, using my time
to be a light in this world.
As I looked around the very full room at her memorial
service, I thought about how she must have influenced each of them. People were there to celebrate the woman she
was and the very impactful life that she had lived. I left the service thinking about my own life
and about how I’m doing as a wife, mother, and friend. Do I invite others into my home for a
meal? Do I show them love and make them
feel like they are the most important person in the world at that moment? Do I take the time to really listen to those
that God puts in front of me? Do I make
time to pray with them?
One day it will be our memorial service. What will others say about us? Do we live impactful lives? Do we make our days count? Do we seek opportunities to be a blessing to
someone? Do we obey when God asks us to
serve others?
I’m so glad my sweet friend was obedient to God when He
asked her to be a mentor to me. My life
will never be the same because of her influence. My hope is that I can be that same kind of
person to others that she was to me. Angela Sutsakhan
Proverbs 10:7 "The memory of the righteous is a
blessing".
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