Alice

She died alone in the summer of 1973.  No one knew for several days.  Her body couldn't even be donated to science (as she had instructed) because of the summer heat and the length of time it took to discover that she'd passed away.  The few things in her small one bedroom apartment were dispersed and her money divided among the charities and ministries she held dear.

I used to fear ending up like Alice, dying alone, unmarried and childless.  I pitied what I perceived to be the end of her story.  I hoped that I wouldn't end up like her.

Then, in the summer of 2010, one of her letters, penned in 1924, made its way to me.  Since then, she's become almost a dear friend, a mentor, a co-laborer for the Gospel.  I thank God for Alice, for her faithfulness to the Word of God and her relentless passion for the Gospel.  I've been blessed by her words and challenged by them more times than I can say.

Her story isn't over, though her earthly life is.  Her story isn't over because God is still answering her prayers for missions and for ministries, because God is still using her words and because her story is a thread in God's tapestry.

Alice didn't die alone.  She died in the arms of her true love, Jesus.  On the day when His tapestry is complete, I'll rejoice with her as we celebrate His works.