dancing in the sky. In memory of Sue Haynie, my beautiful friend and sister in Christ.

I remember the day I first saw Sue. I was sitting across the aisle in church when she walked in. I turned and I smiled at her. That was in 2020. I had no idea then how close we'd become and how she would change my whole world. Two years later in 2022, after shared smiles and waving at one another from across the aisle at church, her husband Kevin approached me after I had given a testimony in church about my declining health. I had just been diagnosed with double heart failure, & pulmonary hypertension. After church Kevin came up to me with a folded piece of paper. He said, "my wife Sue wanted me to give this to you." ( Sue wasn't there that day.) He went on to say, she really would like to get to know you. I looked down at the paper and it had Sue's phone number on it. "She would really like it if you called her," Kevin said. My heart was leaping out of my chest. I was so moved. Me being so shy & so incredibly introverted couldn't believe that someone wanted to get to know me. I remember my whole face was lit up, and I talked about it all the way home with my husband, but I was to shy and had terrible self of esteem, and I lacked the confidence to call her. Thank God Sue didn't give up! She began sitting beside me in church, then we chatted after church. Soon after that she asked for my phone number and began calling me. Immediately that blossomed into a beautiful friendship that I never thought someone like me could ever experience. Sometimes we would talk 5 or 6 hours on the phone, then continue texting late at night. We would laugh about how long we talked, both of feeling like it felt like minutes than hours.
There are so many beautiful things I could say about Sue, so many things that I loved about her. She was fierce, spicey, and had a beautiful zest for life. Of course she was hard working, one of the hardest working people I've ever known, and she LOVED people, she really loved them and saw the best in them, and she would give you the shirt off her back if she thought it would help you. She was utterly selfless and full of light that sparked out all around her, but I think what I loved most about my beautiful friend was her love for Jesus. She adored him, and she not only talked the talk, but she LIVED IT for all the world to see.
Personally, Sue affected my life in ways that she probably never knew. She stepped into my life when I was at my worst, when I was so sick, and felt so utterly alone. Every time I got a text from her, or saw her number on my caller ID my whole face would light up. I could share with her things I couldnt with others, because she got it, she understood it. For the first time in my life I discovered a friendship so deep, so real, and so beautiful. She made me laugh on days that I couldn't imagine I could ever be laughing. She became so much more than my friend, she was my sister, my beautiful fearless sister. There is an enormous hole in my heart that I imagine could never, ever be filled, but I take solace in knowing that she is with Jesus now & one day I will see my beautiful sister in Christ again and when I do, I'm going to give her the biggest hug ever and thank her for bringing color into my colorless world. Then, if heaven has a snack bar, I'm going to take Sue up on the joking invitation she gave me one time during one of our chats, and join her in delighting in all the tasty foods we had to give up here on earth( because of our prospective illnesses.) We're going to find the tastiest treats up there and go to town lol. But in all seriousness though, when I see Sue again, I'm going to thank her for reaching out to the socially awkward lady in the back row of church and loving her like Jesus loves, then I'm going to hug her like ive never hugged her before, and just bask in our sweet reunion. I love you my beautiful sister in Christ, Always & forever. ❤️❤️
Love your little sister,
Kimberly.