Changed By Love

She was a small woman with a big heart. And a big smile. I loved her. I speak in the past tense because she died of cancer five months ago.

I had not been in contact with her since we moved from Ohio in 2005. I tried to call her but could never reach her.

I don’t know why I never got a return call, but I think she may not have gotten my messages.

She was a teacher.

She was a wife.

She was a tax-preparer.

She was a homemaker.

She was a mother.

She was a giver.

She loved well.

Even though she was small in stature, she was great in influence. Everybody knew Audrey. Everywhere she went, she talked to people, prayed for them, told them about Jesus, and made them feel special.

She was a woman of great faith. She shared her testimonies great and small every chance she got. She wanted everyone to know how good God is. She wanted everyone to live an abundant life and to know about the blessings that God wants to give to all of His children. She saw God in everything. She acknowledged His blessings in the smallest things.

She knew God.

When she found a pastor who was preaching the truth, she told everyone she knew, and even though his church was 50 minutes away from our town, at least five families started going to his church. We all went there regularly and got very involved, and then he started coming to her house on Thursday nights for meetings, so we could have a little bit of a break from traveling. Most of us still went to the church Sunday morning, Sunday night and Wednesday night, though. We were hungry and committed, and Audrey was a great motivator.

She was an amazing giver. She did my taxes every year. The first year, she didn’t charge me because she said it was a wedding gift. The second year, I think it was a Christmas gift. The third year, it was a baby gift. The next year, I think she let me pay her about $10. Every year after that, she found some way to keep me from paying her very much. She gave and gave to people. She enjoyed giving like most people enjoy receiving. For Audrey, it was Christmas all year long!

She did my homeschool assessments. She just loved my kids and the things we were doing in our homeschool. She said she didn’t even need to see anything. She could tell by looking at my kids and talking with them that I was doing a good job. But I wanted to show her all the neat things we were doing. So she patiently sat through the hours of listening and looking at our papers and books that we had been working on. She was a very busy person, but she always made time for me when I needed her.

She was a wonderful friend. She really cared about people. She was a very strong person, but she cried easily. Her soft heart was touched by so many people because she reached out to so many people; and they told her their life stories. I know this to be true, because she listened to me. I’m usually more of a listener than a talker, but I could talk to Audrey. And she would listen. And I knew she cared.

She let me borrow her wedding dress. I was having a hard time finding just the right dress. I tried several on in stores. A couple of people let me try theirs. I was trying to keep costs low. Audrey suggested that I try hers. And I really liked it. So I wore her wedding dress and veil, and I’m very happy with the way it looked, even after all these years.

She was always positive and full of faith. She beat cancer once. She sent out prayer requests to a group of people who agreed to be prayer partners with her. We all prayed for her throughout the ordeal, and God brought her through chemo and radiation with minimal side effects and problems. She came back and got healthy and strong again.

She was not judgmental. She was a friend to old and young.

The children she taught were very blessed to have a teacher like her.

I was blessed to have a teacher like her, a mentor really. I learned to be open about my faith and belief that God is a miracle-working God, and that He has good plans for His people. I learned to be loving and warm even with strangers. I learned to look for opportunities to give. I learned to stop judging and start loving – even the unlovely.

I wish I could have been there for her when the cancer came back. I didn’t even know when it happened. I didn’t know until after she died. But I know that she was still loving and warm and thinking of others. I can tell by what I’ve seen on her daughters’ Facebook pages. They miss their mom, and she did things with them up until her death.

I miss her even more now and can’t believe that I’ll never get to see her again on this earth. I always thought I would see her again someday and show her how well my kids turned out. But I’ll have to wait until I see her in Heaven now. I know that she’s lighting up Heaven with that bright smile and happy heart. She left a big hole.

My life is better, and my faith is stronger because of knowing her.

Thank you, Audrey Blundell, for taking an interest in me and enriching my life. I can’t wait to see you in your crown. It must be beautiful and covered with jewels.

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I was inspired to write this post by a link-up and giveaway at Home With the Boys. If you’d like to join in, head on over there and get inspired!