In 7th grade, I was sent to boarding school at Faith Academy in Manila, Philippines. The schooling options in our little backwater town were no longer good enough for my long-term education. Because of the school rules and the fact that my parents were not missionaries, I couldn't live in the dorms. So I had to live with a family instead. And that's how I came to meet Barb Lambert Cox.
Barb was my roommate/sister that year and she had to give up having a room of her own so that I could be moved in. She patiently showed me the ropes in this strange new huge-to-me school and home that was run completely differently from what I was used to. Her way of showing small kindnesses even when it wasn't convenient or easy is a trait that she started back then and later perfected.
Barb passed away in the early hours of this morning, when most of the world was sleeping and quiet. It's fitting, really, that she slipped away peacefully at that time, because that's how she was - unassuming and quiet with a big grin that would flash out and warm your heart.
It's a shock to lose someone that was the same age as you. It really drives home how precious life is. P r e c i o u s. You don't know how long you have. With work and the pressures of modern life, it's easy to forget what's really important. Relationships. Love. Keeping Peace. Doing little things for the people that we love. Like Barb did.
I'll miss you, Barb. But I'm glad your battle with cancer and chemotherapy are over. Yet you've won the war as you join your precious ones in heaven. Rest in perfect peace, sweetie.