A great loss

I’m sitting here with so many thoughts going through my head and a very heavy heart. I just found out-on Facebook no less-that a friend of mine passed away unexpectedly last night. She wasn’t sick, was very happy and just died. She has 4 kids and a loving  husband that she leaves behind. Her name is Kendra. I met Kendra about 7 1/2 years ago through a playgroup. When Lucia was a baby and the following 5 years, we would meet at a park or at someone’s house every Friday for a potluck and playdate. We would stay and talk and eat for hours while the kids played. They were good times-carefree and time to bond with other mothers with young kids. Kendra and I did a preschool co-op together. She was always so creative and did some cool activities with the kids. When Kendra started homeschooling her kids, I thought-Hey, maybe I could try it too and so I did for a half a year. We would get the homeschoolers together and do some fun stuff.  Lucia and Kendra’s daughter attended each other’s birthday parties. When Lucia started school, I gradually stopped going to the Friday playgroup. But, Kendra and I were in book club together and would still see each other once a month. She was a faithful book club goer. Here are some other things that Kendra was: she had a degree in biology, was an excellent gardener, cook, crafter, homeschooled her kids with so much dedication, and could build and do anything. She had opinions, but would never force them on anyone or judge someone if their opinion differed from hers. She had a strong testimony of the gospel and served faithfully in the Church. She was a loving mother and wife. She had a large group of friends. I wonder why God would take such a wonderful person from this earth, from her family? She was doing the most noble thing a woman could do in rearing and teaching her children. What will they do without her? It makes me think that if it could happen to Kendra, it could happen to anyone, it could happen to me. I wonder what she is thinking now, as she looks down on us from heaven. What is God’s purpose for her now? She must have been needed for a very important cause for Him to take her now-so prematurely in her life and while her children are so young. I hope that her husband and children will find peace and be able to understand why God took her from them. I hope that I can rise to the standard Kendra set of being such a wonderful person and mother. She will be greatly missed.

Kendra is in the middle, in the purple shirt. This picture was taken at Kendra’s house a few years ago. We were having a going away party for a friend who moved away. I wish we could have had a “going away” party for Kendra! We love you Kendra!