I write this shortly after having received the news a dear friend passed away.  This friend was one of my “besties” in college.  We didn’t hang out together all the time, but she and I shared the same Radio/TV major (and because of that, had a lot of the same classes, projects, and homework), which resulted in spending a great deal of time together.  The more time we spent together, the more we enjoyed it, and as two of the very few girls in our department, we found a shared love of laughter…and pranks on the boys.

One of our favorites was just plain dumb.  So dumb, in fact, that years later, we couldn’t remember much about it except the date.  April 8.  It was the date we gave to a couple of our best guy friends when we were building up a big joke. We just kept telling them to “wait until April 8.  You’ll find out on April 8.”  When the day arrived, we basically said, “April Fools – a week late.”  There was more to the story, but suffice to say, it was SO DUMB….and we thought it was hysterical.  We laughed so hard about it, that it actually became our own unofficial holiday.  By the time we graduated, we couldn’t imagine going our separate ways.  But no matter what, over the years whenever April 8 rolled around, there was a call or a text to say Happy April 8th – thinking about you!  

When I learned Cindy was seriously ill a few weeks ago, I made a road trip to see her.  I talked to her, prayed over her, held her hand and told her how much I treasured our friendship.  She was barely conscious and would give an occasional smile.  I wondered if she really heard me—until I told her I am now the grandmother of three boys—to which she replied, “That’s crazy.”  And I knew she was there.  

Driving home, I thought of all the years of friendship we had shared…and how neither of us could really remember exactly what we said to those guys as we built up the suspense of that date…our greatest (dumbest) prank ever.  As my tears fell the morning I heard the news of her passing, the exact words we had spoken came back to me in a rush.  We had told them, “All will be revealed on April 8.”  And it was.  We told them the whole story. They laughed at how goofy we were.  We all laughed together and had a wonderful time…which is why we always remembered it so fondly.

And this year, my friend Cindy died in the early morning hours of April 8.  There was no phone call, but I received the memory of those words, and knew that, certainly for her, “ All was revealed.”  I can see her throwing her head back in laughter and joy as she celebrates the goodness of God—and for that, I find laughter and joy through my tears.  

Friends. Families. Communities.  Sharing life together. Thank you for being part of my story.