Thankful Thursday - Remembering Janeth

My sweet friend, Janeth, has been on my mind so much lately.  Janeth left this earth 5 years ago (so hard to believe it has been 5 years) but she is ever present in my life.  Let me tell you a little about Janeth.

We met a long time ago - when her son Seth was 5 years old.  I moved in and out of Arlington a couple of times and when I moved back in 1999, Seth was a junior in high school.  Janeth was involved in the youth ministry and so was I.  We picked our friendship right back up and it was pure joy to spend time with her.  She was one of those people who had endless energy and a continual smile.  

In 2003, Janeth got some devastating news.  She had stage 4 colon cancer.  It was such a shock to all of us.  We were optimistic, but concerned.  I remember going to see her in the hospital after her first surgery and just crying my eyes out when I left.  I just couldn't imagine life without her.  I begged God to heal her and allow us many years with her.

That began one of the hardest and most amazing journeys I have ever been on.  Several of us began to meet weekly with Janeth for fellowship and prayer.  We were to be her support team, but from the beginning she didn't want it to be all about her.  We met weekly for the next 3 years.  It is hard to even describe the changes that happened in all of our lives during that time.  We decided that maybe she was actually the support team we needed!  Here are some of the things I learned from Janeth:

Health is a gift: enjoy it when you have it and do your best when it is failing you.  So much of those 3 years, you would not have even known anything was wrong with Janeth unless you were already aware of it.  She kept going and doing at an amazing pace.  She so valued the time she had that she fought for every moment of it to be used well.

It's not about me:  If anyone had the right to make it about them, it was Janeth.  She endured so much as she fought to live another day.  She did about every kind of treatment, surgery etc. that she could.  But - she never made life about her.  She was always looking out for others and asking me how she could pray for me and what could she do for me.  We tiled my kitchen backsplash together during this time.  We laughed a lot and cried a lot.  One week I took her to chemo and her blood work wasn't where it needed to be for the treatment.  We left the hospital and Janeth wanted to go shopping and out to lunch.  She insisted on buying me a gift for driving her to chemo in Dallas.  She bought me a red pancake spatula!  I think of her every time I see it.

One of my favorite memories was being with her at chemo in Arlington.  I was spending those hours with her to help her pass the time, bring her lunch and just hang out.  At one point, a woman across the room was having her first chemo treatment.  She was very frightened and she was crying.  Janeth got up and pulled her iv setup with her over to this woman.  She offered her encouragement and comfort.  She prayed for her.  Seriously one of the most profound moments of my life.  Jesus with skin on to be sure.

There is something better:  We often said that the closer Janeth got to her death, the more heaven there was in her.  As it became evident that the treatments were not working and that the cancer continued to spread, Janeth began to plan for the future.  Those last few months, it seemed as if she had one foot in heaven already.  There was such an incredible peace about her.  She didn't want to leave her family or her friends.  There were still so many things that she wanted to do - and yet there was such anticipation about seeing Jesus face to face.


I had the privilege of being with Janeth when she died.  She left this world and moved on to the next with peace.  It was very surreal, and to be honest, sometimes it still is.  For the longest time, I would wake up and for a moment just forget that this had actually happened.  I would think of calling Janeth or stopping by her house - and then I would remember.  


Jesus is all that matters:  If there was one message that came across loud and clear over and over again - it was that.  Janeth took every opportunity to tell everyone she came in contact with about Jesus.  She lived out her faith until her last moment on this earth and seamlessly went on to the next one.

Janeth was funny, smart, creative,

faithful, loyal, caring, kind, forgiving,

nurturing, giving, warm, loving, a servant to all.

Janeth was a wife, mother, daughter, aunt, friend and one of those people that impacts your life forever.

I will be forever thankful for her friendship and the example that she set for me.

Heaven is the richer for our loss. 

I'll see you soon my friend.