Last week I received a sweet surprise in the mail. Beverley’s daughter recently found an undated letter that her mother had written to me while I was living in Knoxville. I had mailed a signed copy of “Showered By Grace” to Bev when I received my first shipment of books. She referenced the receipt of my book in her letter, so this note would have been written in January 2016.

Seeing her handwritten words, prior to my return to Goshen in 2018, triggered a mixed emotional response. She had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease a few years prior and this had affected her ability at times to stay focused and complete tasks. She had taken meticulous notes during bible studies in the past. She had composed numerous large notebooks filled with poems, songs, writings, pictures, and cards that she had saved over the decades, and these were well organized in plastic sheets. During the time I was employed by Bev, she showed me some of her albums. There were many words that spoke to me personally as well. One of my favorites was a small typed note, signed by a woman named Eloise Hatfield in San Bernardino, CA, that read,

“I was a nut

in a tired paper bag

until Jesus cracked my shell

salted me

and tossed me to the world

to make it

thirsty

for him.”

Looking at the letter, I recalled the progression of the disease process, from our initial meeting in 2011, to my employment in 2018, to her eventual move to heaven in 2021.

Bev had loved to encourage others, and many pieces of writing in her collections reflected those sentiments. She created a ministry while living in Florida and the primary purpose was to encourage those who needed a touch of God’s love. This ministry had allowed her creative side to bloom even more and she enjoyed serving during that season. Tears flowed as her life had changed and the ministry was no longer possible for her to continue.

She had an amazing gift of rhyme. Bev would spontaneously speak in rhyming sentences without effort, always accompanied with a little smile and a twinkle in her eye. I was in awe every time she delivered a rhyming verse.

My letter was without a closing or signature, and I remembered how it became very difficult for Bev to use a pen. In the last couple of years, she was no longer able to write an address correctly. She would browse through cards to find an appropriate greeting, but this became too draining for her as well, and she would leave that project and move onto something else. She wanted to do the things she had once done effortlessly, and it was frustrating when her body and mind were no longer able to function in the same capacity. Many moments flashed through my mind and heart as I read her words. I loved her greeting in the letter, “Precious Iris”.

I am very grateful to her daughter for sending this special letter. Her mother was a unique lady, and I was privileged to share a few years of her life. She was one of those that God used to make the world thirsty for Him. I will see her again one glorious day!