Cousie

Tara & Nita

Simeon, Tara & Destiny

On Monday, my cousin Tara, passed away from cancer and went to be with Jesus.  I probably should have written this post while she was still with us, but I guess I just continually pushed into the Hope that she would be healed on this side of eternity and we would not be facing her death.

Nita & Tara Floating on a Log

Tara and I were only 4-5 years a part in age and I would always call her "cousie".  She had a dry, sarcastic sense of humor that I loved and we had so much fun bantering back and forth.  I loved Tara's laugh.  It would start as a smile and warm into a sort of giggle/laugh as if she was saying, "I can't believe I'm laughing at you, your seriously the weirdest!"  Ha!  :-)

I would often tease Tara about her baby face and how she would be asked if she was old enough to sit in an exit row on the airplane when she was close to 40 years old and would not be allowed to wait in the bar area of a restaurant in her late 30's as staff were not convinced she was 21.
These pictures of us in the lake are some of my favorites.  I forgot I had them until the other day.  We were camping a few years ago and Tara came to join us for the day,  and her and I found this log and we attached ourselves to it and just talked and laughed at the kids as we floated in the middle of the lake.  Was such a fun memory.

Tara moved from Boston to Washington in 2006 and lived with us for a little over a year before she found her own place.  Our kids were young in those years and we would often find her laughing at the children when they would do silly things.  She was one of their favorite audiences and babysitter!

Simeon, Tara & Destiny

She had a special bond with my son, he would climb up on her lap and ask her for treats and show off.  Tara loved it when he would sing “Jesus loves me” because he would sing with such enthusiasm and end it with “the Bible tells me SOAP” (instead of so) as his little mind thought that was how the song went.  Tara would laugh and laugh and try to get him to sing it again.

Simeon & Tara

At the time Tara worked at Target and when we would get out of the car to shop at Target, he would get all excited sitting in his little car seat and start exclaiming "Tara Target, Tara Target and search for her in the store until he found her!!”

In April this year, some of our extended family  had a Celebration of Life for Tara, while she was still living.  We all gathered in Iowa and spent two days together, playing games, singing, eating Tara's favorite food and spending time with Tara.  It was very special. She was one loved woman.  This was the last time I saw her.



This past year almost every night before bed, during the night or as I was waking up in the morning, I would pray for Tara and for peace, freedom from pain, healing, etc. As I began to drift off to sleep the other night, I began to pray for Tara and the realized she was no longer with us and no longer in need of healing.  It was a comfort to know she was with Jesus but at the same

time the loss was deeply felt.  During the early hours of the morning  I had a good cry, while everyone else was sleeping.     I know my kids were disappointed and hurting because they did not get to say goodbye to Tara.  I was feeling regrets and I just asked Jesus to show me a picture of Him and Tara in heaven.  As I surrendered my imagination to the Lordship of Jesus, I saw

Tara sitting on the back of a pick-up truck with Jesus and they were laughing and at a drive-in movie, talking and eating popcorn.  They were so enjoying each other's company.  Immediately my heart was filled with peace and a sense of joy, as I know Tara is out of pain and spending time with the one who loves her beyond anything we could imagine.

Tara's Celebration of Life