On Tuesday, October 13, I lost my sister and first friend. And while my heart is broken and so sad, I am rejoicing that she is no longer in any pain and wrapped in the arms of Jesus.

Of all the blog posts I have had to write, this is one I prayed I would never have to do. Many of you know that sweet sister, Christa, was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer this past May. She fought so hard, but on Tuesday, October 13, she went home to be with the Lord.

Over the past few weeks, she was in and out of the hospital and hospice center. It feels as thought life has been a roller coaster of highs and lows over the past six months, but especially the past three weeks. We were called down to the hospital or hospice center five different times with thoughts that she only had hours to live, but she kept fighting.

At the beginning of her stay in the hospital, she was very responsive and talkative. But the last two days were spent in near silence. My family was all there. My brother that just moved to Italy made it back in time to see her and spend time with her before she passed away. We all took turns holding her hands and rubbing her head. She left this earth knowing how very loved she was.

During our last conversation, I held her hand, told her how much I loved her, told her I was so proud to call her my sister, told her how proud I was of how hard she fought, and promised her I would take care of Shaka and Jada. She told me she loved me very much.

And while we have a peace knowing she is no longer in pain and is smiling down from heaven, our hearts are hurting from the loss. There are so many things about her I will miss.

I will miss her huge heart that never knew a stranger.
I will miss watching episodes of our favorite shows together.
I will miss hearing her sing and play the piano at church.
I will miss seeing George, our sweet puppy, cuddled up beside her.
I will miss our daily text conversations.
I will miss her calling me “Sissy” or “Seester” – even though I never loved those nicknames! Ha! But what I wouldn’t give to hear her say those words again.

I will just miss her.

We have done so many things that I never thought we would have to do.

We watched my sweet sister pass from this life to heaven.

We sat down as a family and told Henry, Lucy, and Jada that Christa had died and gone to heaven. Their tears and sadness was so hard.

I am really good at picking out outfits, but I never thought I would have to pick an outfit for my sister to be buried in.

I wanted her to be healed here on earth, but God has fully restored her body in heaven. And while my timing and God’s timing may not align, I know that His timing is perfect even though I don’t understand it.

My heart hurts, but in this time, we have seen God’s love in so many ways.

Shaka, my brother-in-law, showed unconditional love to my sweet sister. His selflessness and dedication to Christa still amazes me.

The generosity of our friends, family members, and people we don’t even know has truly blown us away.

Christa’s positivity and love for Jesus has truly touched more lives than we even know.

You can read her full obituary here.

We appreciate all the love, grace, and prayers as we navigate through this hard time. We know, that with God’s help, we will get through this as a family. We will miss you, sweet sister.

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