Again I am faced with writing about a friend who has gone Home. We got word this morning that our dear friend, JoAnn Fulp was gone to be with Jesus! This is not necessarily bad news but it is painful to those of us who loved JoAnn. She had surgery last Friday and due to some complications she did not get to go back to her earthly home but on to her Heavenly home. But she was ready to go!
Let me tell you first a little about JoAnn. We met JoAnn several years ago at Monticello United Methodist Church when they were having what they called "Saturday Night Real Life" At the time the pastor there was Jeff Coppley and he too became very good friends of ours! JoAnn & Robert were there many of the Saturday nights and JoAnn was a worshipper! Not only did she worship in a group setting but she also was a worshipper in her personal life, when no one was watching except for the One to Whom she worshipped. And 'how do I know this' you ask???
JoAnn not only 'talked the talk' but she also 'walked the walk'! We became instant friends and we kept in touch thru e-mail almost daily! She was an encourager and a freind who was there, in joy and in sadness. She probably told me a hundred times that she was praying for me/us and she is one of those who I believe did just that! And again I'm sure that you are asking 'how do I know that??'
JoAnn was a person who could pick you up when you were down and she had a contagious laugh that I will always remember! You could see Jesus in her eyes and on her face! You could see Him! If you know Jesus you will know what I am talking about because you can recognize Him in others around you who are truly of Him! And let me tell you that that is a rare quality indeed!! The Holy Spirit will reveal Himself to you if you desire and He will also let you know when you see 'the real deal'!! Don't even think about telling me that the Holy Spirit lies because God cannot lie and the Holy Spirit is sent from God to us to reveal truth and lead us in our daily walk!
I am so thankful to have known JoAnn and my life has been richer because of her! God knows I will miss her terribly--every e-mail I send to anyone goes to JoAnn as well! There are a very few people that I send EVERYthing to and she is one of them! Funny stuff, serious stuff, personal stuff, political stuff, dumb stuff, neat stuff--ALL of it goes to JoAnn too! Why? Because she has been a friend and a special person who has done the same for me as well! I know I got all her 'stuff' and she told me once that she sends my stuff on too! I even sent her a computer virus one time that put her out of commission for a time--ooopps!!! It's gonna be a hard habit to break to keep from 'copying' to her...I'm gonna miss her so much!!
I wish that I could be the kind of friend to others that JoAnn has been to me thru the years! Always there, always there, always there! She sent me an e-mail just last week telling me about her upcoming surgery and here is an exerpt from that e-mail:
"I will have 2 human doctors because Dr. Robinson will be working with Dr. Foxworthy. and they area the best in town!
But I know the Great Healer in control of EVERYTHING! God knows my will is to always be in His will ,and Jesus loves me.
I've been told I will feel better, breath better and have some energy. If that is what my Father wants for me, so be it. I am His child and I know He cares for me. "
She also spoke about my Dad who has cancer and that she hoped he continues to improve... always concerned about the well-being of others! She introduced me to her sister, Sylvia, several years ago and she too is that same kind of special person! JoAnn & Robert and Denise and myself got together a few times and enjoyed each other's company so much! JoAnn loved music and she loved to write, which she did often. She wrote poetry as well as life stories of herself. She was an inspiration to me in my own (lame) writing but she encouraged me to write for a while for her church on-line newsletter in an article called "Thursday Thoughts", which for a time I wrote e-mails with the same title.
I could go on and on and on about JoAnn but the bottom line of her life is that she loved Jesus and she talked about Him often! That's how I knew!! She talked about Him and her trust in Him and in Him alone for her well being and for her life!! I look forward to seeing her again in Heaven one day and I feel that Jesus is just ABOUT to come back for His own--REALLY SOON! JoAnn just beat the rest of us there!!
PLEASE pray for her husband Robert and for her family as well as they try to continue their lives without our dear friend, wife, mother and sister!!
I Love you JoAnn!! See you soon!!
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