I've wanted to post this for a while... Last month I was in Maryland for a memorial service for my friend Jeanie's mom (Kathy Bowers). After eight years of battling cancer, the Lord called her home.

I did not have the opportunity to personally know Kathy, but I had seen the fruit of her life through Jeanie, who has been one of my closest friends for the past four years. (the first time we got together we realized that our parents knew each other in college!) It was not only touching, but God glorifying to hear Kathy's friends, sister, husband and children share about her life. At the end of the memorial, they played a video of Kathy from three weeks before she went to be with the Lord. In it, she expressed her gratefulness for her salvation and her desire to see her Savior face to face. I am amazed at her faith, joy, and perseverance. I know that God was glorified through her life and the way that she responded to her sickness - never complaining. Jeanie also set an example in her faith throughout this trial. You can read a tribute that she wrote about her mom for Mothers Day at the GirlTalk blog.
Also, Jeanie's husband Joe wrote about Kathy's response to her cancer on his blog.

I am reminded that my life is not my own, it is not about me. I was made for one person and one place. I have been given the greatest gift- my salvation, and every day that the Lord gives me on earth is for His glory and praise! I pray that I will run this race with my eyes set fixed on the goal - eternal life that Christ has purchased for me, forever singing His praises.