My Friend, Chris

“When all is said (and truly said) about the divisions of Christendom, there remains, by God’s mercy, an enormous common ground.”

C.S. Lewis

That really sums up the Catholic prayer service for my friend, Chris, yesterday. The church was packed with people of all faiths and no faiths. We all loved Chris, and Chris loved the Lord, so there we were.

When Chris and I first started talking bout God, we were new friends. As our conversations grew, I got up the gumption to invite her to a bible study. She dove into the study like a dog after a bone. She devoured the lessons, got extra materials on her own, and came with questions every week. Her faith grew by leaps and bounds. And in that, she and I had several discussions about the Catholic church. We were both reared in Catholic homes--Chris was even fortunate enough to attend parochial school until junior high. I had left the Catholic church and joined a PCA church, and Chris was praying about whether she should also leave the only church she'd known. She made a very thoughtful and prayerful decision to remain a Catholic. She had found a wonderful priest in Father Herman. He became a dear friend and mentor to her as her faith grew.

Our bible study changed much and the "usual suspects" moved away as is always the case in Hawaii. Chris found a bible study at her church and was in a study there until her death. Her faith, once rekindled, never wavered for a minute. Her zeal for drawing closer to God only grew. And when she was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer a year ago, she referred to it as a blessing, so that she would keep her focus where it ought to be--on Him.

Amazing. Joyful. Thoughtful. Energetic. Tough. Smart. Diligent. Beautiful. Smiling. Sincere. Devoted. BELOVED.

So when all of those people came to St. Ann's church to grieve the loss of our friend, we all sang worship songs together, and prayed the Lord's prayer. And nothing could have been less important than the denominations or lack thereof of anyone. That is who Chris was. She didn't care about anything but what really mattered: Love God. Love people.
Chris excelled at both.