Life is short

One of my bell ringers died suddenly. Mary...
She was a quirky, funny, highly educated, faithful woman. I’ll be honest... when I first met her many years ago she was hard to like, but I grew to appreciate her, to enjoy our time together in bible study, and to love her and her quirks. She joined our bell choir a couple of years ago and jumped in with both feet. She actually practiced. She was the first one to sign up for bell fests because learning was important to her.
Mary was an integral part of our church. She sang in the choir, came to weekly bible study, volunteered when she could, and she was one of my ringers. This year I made her a blue shawl. I knew she wanted a blue wrap, and I just felt called to make it for her. She was so excited when she got it. For Christmas this year, I knew money was tight for her, so I made her a scarf, a pair of mittens, and I tucked a gift card in the mitten. She loved it! I got the biggest best hug from her on Christmas Eve. That was the last time I saw her in person.
She will be missed.
I will miss her. We will all miss her.