Thursday, August 6, 2009

Gigi

My friend Gigi Davidson* died last month, called home to be with Jesus, who’d given her victory time after time over her disease. She battled cancer for 13 years with the unwavering support of her sons, husband, and numerous friends.

I long admired and respected Gigi, and her memorial service made me even more aware that she was one of the most remarkable women I have ever known. You know those birthday candles that you blow out and they keep on relighting? Gigi was like that. No matter how horrible the symptoms, how much they flattened her, drained the life out of her…she kept coming back. At the worst moments, she wrote poetry, giving God credit for the lines, and counseled others who were drawn to her peaceful spirit. At Gigi’s memorial luncheon, I met person after person who had the same memory of her that I did: that she was a kind of angel-in-waiting, always encouraging us with Scripture verses or personal stories to send us on our way rejoicing!

I suppose that in a way, we’re all like candles. Some of us, like Gigi, seem to burn so brightly. Some, like my young friend Kurt who died at 20, go out too quickly in our human eyes. Gigi’s candle lasted for 57 years here on earth. Others, like my parents, burn nearly 90 years or more. In each case, though, these people of God reached so many others with the light from their lives that their light is still visible today.

Christ is like that. He calls Himself the “Light of the World.” Believers in Him as the Son of God who died for their sins and rose again have that same “Light” to share with others. No wonder our lights can keep on shining like Gigi’s; they’re a reflection of Him.

*Gigi Davidson graciously provided Woman to Woman® with the following information about her battles with cancer last October in observance of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. To view these items, please click here and here.

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