I have no idea if Hope reads my blog. We've never discussed it. But there are a few things I must share.

Hope was the first person to be my friend at this church back in 1990. I walked into Youth and she met me at the door with a smile. She came with the pastor on Visitation night to visit me. She made me feel welcome.

Hope taught me what it was to love the Church. She taught me what it meant to be committed to not just the idea of Christ but Christ Himself.

Hope taught me to love Communion. I remember a time that I wanted her to go somewhere else to church to visit friends and she turned me down flat. Her reason? "We have Communion Sunday. I can't miss that." We were 18 at the time. It made a huge impact on me.

As a married woman, Hope was my first neighbor. She and Mary lived next door to us. We ate supper together every Thursday night. Maggie was so tiny that we would put her in the laundry basket to sleep while we watched Friends.

Hope taught me how to be a friend. We had a very big... not argument... a falling out, maybe. I, as was my usual fashion, wrote off the friendship as lost. That is until Hope came to me and apologized for her part of it. Her humility and repentance changed the way I saw life. Here was a new way of interacting with people. Apologize? I'd never had a friendship restored before. And once restored, strong and deep.

In the delivery room after Maggie was born, I made a comment about looking rough. Of course, every one there made the appropriate response "Oh you look beautiful." I looked to Hope, waiting... her response? "I have a comb in my purse." Then she took it out and made me presentable. Thank you.

I told Hope not long ago: Nothing she can do will make me stop loving her. She is my friend, my sister, my family, my teacher. I will always love her. Thank you, Hope, for once again teaching me. Showing me what grace looks like. In our weakness, He is strong. And I'm still here.