Today I bid earthly goodbye to a dear friend, Emily Pippin, who will be relocating to Charlotte tomorrow. I know I will see her in heaven, but saying goodbye in this life is difficult.
Emily and her recently graduated to heaven husband, Leon, have been writing friends, confidantes, and fellow church members. Emily has proofread, meticulously, my books, and she and I can and have discussed many things in the years we’ve been together here in Florida. I agonized with her in her husband’s almost six year battle with cancer. I babysat her plants when she was away. I’ve discussed book plots and recognized her immense talent in genealogical research, and we’ve attended Space Coast Writers’ Guild meetings together. I will miss her musical knowledge and commitment to teaching. We shared that too.
Now she goes to be near her son, Don. After a series of debilitating strokes, she needs care. Her faith is strong, her longing for heaven is even stronger, and I commit her to the care of others. Blessings, dear Emily.
This is a tribute I have previously posted. It does not do her justice. I will miss her.
Dear Emily:
My dear, sweet friend, Emily Pippin, is a sister in Christ, a firm example of one who is a member of my cloud of witnesses. She is a person I admire greatly as a woman of faith, a thoughtful and caring Proverbs 31 woman, and a daughter of the King.
Emily is meticulous in all she does, a planner, an executor, and a woman who sets a goal and relentlessly accomplishes it with panache and excellence. She finds no task too large for her immense talents, and finds a way to innovatively put her special stamp of approval on the project to others’ amazement.
She is relentless in following the Lord’s will for her life, always striving to affect others with her positive comments, her writing, her wisdom, and her sharing spirit. Blessed with amazing insight, Emily can assess a situation, suggest improvements, and negotiate solutions with dexterity and charm. Her accomplishments are many. Costume designer and implementer, performance specialist, relentless seeker of excellence, meticulous proofreader, writer of genealogies, family historian, model homemaker, and outstanding spouse to Leon.
As a Proverbs 31 woman, she finds pleasure in planning for the future, in providing for her family and others, in nurturing her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, a teacher of generations, an artistic creator of plays and productions, and a homemaker who keeps everything in order and knows there are no concerns about the future.
She is now assigned the life role of care-giving, where she is an encourager, a fearsome prayer warrior, an advocate, a concerned wife, and a loving partner. She is a sacrificial servant, a model to those who watch from the sidelines, and who pray for her strength. She has assisted her dear Leon in warfare, and were it up to her, she expects miraculous healing and restoration. And she would willingly trade places and take on the role of patient rather than that of caregiver. That’s just who she is.
She and her loving husband, Leon, have become dear friends, and I can hardly say their names separately. Like a favorite poet of mine, eecummings, who runs words together for emphasis, I cannot say just Leon’s name or just hers, it’s always leonandemily, one phrase, one moniker, one thought.
Few women in my life have been such an influence. Emily is special in all the ways she serves our Lord. A stellar musician, she has learned and taught her craft well. She is knowledgeable about the Bible, and loves the Word deeply. She is always learning. She made sure her children and students knew the Sovereignty of God and loved Him with all their heart, soul, strength, and mind because she does. Her example of Christ-walking is enviable and those who know her as I do, know how deep and wide the Father’s love for her is displayed in her sanctified living standards. There is no question from where her strength comes. The Lord shines through her as if she were a beautiful stained glass window in the mightiest cathedral. She spreads sunshine and beauty in her wake. Those privileged to know this dear woman have been touched by greatness. She is a star shining through my cloud of witnesses, and I am privileged to call her my friend.
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