I saw her across the sanctuary. A woman with a slight stoop to her shoulders. The longest locks of black hair. A pair of glasses perched on her nose. I was given an invite to go on over and talk to the woman if I wanted to know more about becoming a MOPS coach. I was knee-deep in toddlers at the time and had no time for extras.
Four years and another baby later I was on my way to a leadership retreat at a friend's lake house. I had joined the group of MOPS Volunteers. I had gotten to know them thru phone calls and lengthy emails. This was before Zoom or Google Meet had been a public commodity. We still did things the "old fashioned" way. I was helping our host get things set up when a heavy tread could be heard coming up the stairs, than- a woman came thru the door with a smile as wide as she was tall. And at six feet, three inches that was a pretty big smile. As we started saying hello, she wrapped her arms around me and said, "We don't shake hands on this team, we hug." That is how I officially met my good friend Sandy Hunt. This is our team the last time I was at an event with Sandy.
Over the next few years, Sandy and I worked together to help encourage and equip the MOPS leaders of Indiana. I spent time at her home learning how to lead better. Sandy showed me how to love others when they didn't deserve it.
Sandy is one of my faith heroines to me.
She is a woman of valor. She had no pretense, no artifice. Sandy was a warrior for the God she and I both love. Sandy was strong. She was sturdy. Sandy was also generous and kind. She loved to laugh. She loved to remind me not to freak out. To let things be. But to also go after that which needed to be done. She held me accountable to the dreams I shared with her. She gave me opportunity to lead even when she could do the job better.
Sandy loved Jesus more than anything else. She brought the perspective of a sinner saved by grace to me when I would be smug in my self-righteous ideas. Showing me with humility that the world was more than just a little bit bigger than my own two eyes could see. That Jesus loved those on the margins as much as those in the middle.
Sandy was my beacon in a large crowd. She was the warm embrace and encouraging smile even thru her own struggles. In a conference hall filled with women we sang songs together. We read scripture together. We prayed for moms and each other.
Sandy had a heart for moms who are lost. Moms drowning in diapers and baby food. Desperate for a hand to help them. So often Sandy was that hand. All Sandy did, she did to encourage moms that it was ok and they were loved. Sandy's own story of herself as a young mom gave hope and inspiration to so many leaders and attenders of MOPS to keep on doing their best. Her story and life let us know that it was ok to ask for help. To accept help offered. To never miss the mom at the playground, or library or grocery store that needs a break. And then to be the one that offers the break. Insistently.
I will miss my friend Sandy. I will miss her joy and laughter. Her practicality and presence. I will remember my beautiful friend as the heroine she is. Dancing on tables in all of her six foot three glory. And I will count it all joy when we reunite in the presence of our Father. I rejoice with Sandy, even as the tears fall, that she is finally hearing, "Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have run the race with perseverance. Your pain is healed, your work is done. Welcome home, my beautiful friend.
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