Saying Goodbye

If you're within or associated the Gateway community in any way, you've undoubtedly been inundated with updates about a young lady named Miranda Donnell over the past 24 hours. Yesterday morning, I received a text message from Miranda's sister, Natalie, saying that Miranda had been admitted into the hospital after having some serious health complications resulting from a mysterious illness. The situation was critical and Miranda was placed on life support. Unfortunately, this afternoon, Miranda passed away.

Miranda was one of the sweetest girls that I have ever had the pleasure of meeting.She had a bubbly personality and was incredibly loud, with a contagious laugh that could brighten the worst day. I don't think there was any way that you couldn't simply love her. She was just a genuinely nice person all around. And funny. Absolutely hilarious, actually. I can remember many conversations with Miranda sitting on my bed in the dorm, with her talking about boys, particularly cowboys, something that likely in part drove her deep love for PBR. Her sense of humor stuck with her, even in the most terrifying of situations. For example, during my first semester at school, a group of us decided that we were going to The Loop to hang out for the evening. Unfortunately, none of us had bothered to check the weather before we ventured out, and springtime in St.Louis is notorious for its tornadoes. This minor oversight resulted in our driving halfway to our destination, hearing sirens, and then speeding back to Florissant, with Miranda half-laughing, half-interceding in the driver's seat.

Above all of these other things, the thing I admired most about my friend was her commitment and faith in God. Any person that even briefly met her could tell you this. Miranda was majoring in pastoral studies during the time she was at school, something that isn't exactly the norm for girls to do. She was all too aware of this and came up against many people who wanted to tell her that she couldn't fulfill her calling. And with all of the dignity and respect in the world, she would inform each and every one of them that they were wrong. If God didn't have a problem with her preaching, then who were they to stop her? She was driven and dedicated, completely sold out to God, and a fantastic example of a Christian to everyone with whom she came in contact.

I don't understand why God chose to take her today, and I'm sure there are many that knew and loved her that share the same sentiment. And it's quite possible that we never will. But it is a great comfort to know that her dedication and love for Christ led her to a much better place than this world could ever offer.

You fought the good fight, woman. Much love.