The first time I met Dr Rachel Armstrong Thomas was when my sister was pregnant with her first child Shawn over 44 years ago. What was really interesting to me at the time was that Rachel herself was pregnant with her first child who would be born one month after Shawn and the nurse during delivery was also pregnant with her second child who was born in February so imagine that picture while my sister was giving birth.
I really got to know Rachel when my son Zach was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. I cannot express how much she helped our family during this most difficult time. She visited Zach numerous times while he was in and out of the hospital at both Hermann and MDA. Countless times she came to our home to listen to Zach’s lungs, administer a shot he needed or just talk to him about moose (she was from Canada). She was a delight to all of us. Some of the best advice I received came from her. At one point early in Zach’s diagnosis, I grieved to her in wanting to know what the future held for Zach. Now I do realize that we as followers of Christ should not engage in this kind of thinking. Our trust is in Christ. I am being very honest with you. I wanted to know if Zach would still be with us even a year from that date. I still remember her response – “Sheri you don’t know what you are asking for. Think about it. If we knew what the future held, we might not have the strength to get out of the bed in the morning.” Perhaps this is why our Lord who loves us so, instructs us not to seek mediums, fortune tellers to know the future. Our complete trust is to be in Him.
It’s been I believe three years since Rachel departed this life. It was quite a blow to a huge community of people who loved her and cherished her friendship. Her advice lives on in my mind. Tomorrow I will share something else she told me that stuck with me all these years later.
We are often blessed with a multitude of people in our lives who I believe God uses to encourage us, strengthen us and often redirect our thoughts of where they should be. This is another example of His grace. We are all so blessed to have known such people as Rachel who encourage us to be courageous and trust God in all things.