Miss Fran

Do you want to see a picture of an angel? Take a look at the little gal standing in front of me. She's wearing a black leather jacket in this photo so you can't see her wings!


Fran is my Florida friend. This picture was taken years ago when she popped up to Canada to visit her folks in Woodstock. Just before they headed back to the sunny south they made a quick detour and we rendezvoused for dinner at Anna Mae's in Millbank. That's where this photograph was snapped. Although it was a while ago, I remember it well.

Frannie and I met in college in 1977 (yikes!) From the moment we met we sort of knew we would be buddies for life. Her infectious laugh and her profound faith were a major magnet for me. My faith consisted of milk and baby steps. Through my new found friend I started to see an unconditional love on display. A Jesus kind of a love. Fran and I had some great times. And I always kidded her about her perfect hair (- she still has perfect hair to this day.)

Fran has been a rock to me over this past year as I have battled cancer. Nary a week passed once she heard about my diagnosis, that she didn't call me from the sunny south. She lifted my spirits and told me to put on my big girl panties and be strong on more than one occasion. It seemed God prompted her just at the right moment to call or send me something or e-mail me. Probably one of the most treasured items that appeared in the mail one day was a plaque. I have it on the wall beside my bed and even now it is one of the first things I see in the morning when I open my eyes:

What Cancer Cannot Do

It cannot cripple love
It cannot shatter hope
It cannot corrode faith
It cannot destroy peace
It cannot kill friendship
It cannot suppress memories
It cannot silence courage
It cannot invade the soul
It cannot steal eternal life
It cannot conquer the spirit
Cancer is so limited... (author uknown)

Following many nasty chemo treatments, I would roll over and look at those words. Sometimes I would cry. Sometimes I would smile. Sometimes I would just stare and wonder about the wisdom contained within the lines. Thanks Frannie for being my angel and for ministering to my heart and understanding my moods, my needs and my tears. I love that we can be apart and hardly even communicate for months on end yet still be soul sisters forever.