Spirit of the Dove



Spirit of the Dove created many of the graphics in the reflections section on this website. She was a talented person when it came to creating graphics and backgrounds, and had an eye for decorating in general. She was a beautiful person, a friend, and a member of my church family.

I first met Brenda, aka Spirit of the Dove, when I was in a church bowling league with my mom. Brenda's mother, who was a very good friend of my mom's was also in the league. Sometimes Brenda would come with her mother, Pat, to watch and cheer her on as she bowled. It wasn't long before Brenda became a friend of my mom's too.

I really didn't get to know Brenda very well until after my mom passed away, and I started going to the church that my mom went to. Back then I got to know several of my mom's friends through the exchange of emails. Brenda was always sending me something to brighten my day, and I found myself going straight to my computer when I woke up in the mornings to check my emails. Brenda was one of the people who helped me to get through those rough times right after my mom died.

After I started my housecleaning business, I wound up working for Brenda and her mother for quite some time before Brenda decided that it would be better to have one of our friends from church work for her because she could work on the days that Pat and Brenda needed her rather than having to worry about a schedule.

I didn't see either Brenda or her mother much after that even though they lived right across from me. But I was on Brenda's graphics email list and received emails from her often. I always looked forward to her emails even after she switched from graphics to scans.

Last year, she sent an email saying that she was going to start sending the Christmas scans early. I was happy because I always looked forward to her Christmas scans. Now I am grateful she sent some early last year because those were the only Christmas scans she was able to send.

It was Saturday morning, on the day of our church's Thanksgiving dinner, when I got the call to go over to the house that Brenda shared with her mother... something bad had happened. One of my friends, the one who worked for Brenda, had gone with her son over to help Brenda go shopping. Brenda had asked them to help her because she had hurt her shoulder a few days before. When they got there, Brenda didn't answer the door. My friend went in through the unlocked back door and helped Brenda's mom out of bed, then they went in to check on Brenda. Brenda was laying on her bed... she had passed away sometime the night before.

As I stood in the living room that morning waiting to talk to Pat, the house seemed so alive with all the people in it. Everything was just as I had remembered it -- cozy and welcoming. Brenda had a special touch for decorating and making a house feel like a home. Even with all the family, police officers, and friends standing around I still kept expecting her to come walking out of her room to ask if anybody wanted ice water or anything else to drink.

I felt so sad for Brenda's mother - she had depended on Brenda to take care of her for so long. Now she seemed so hurt and lost without her daughter. Nobody had expected Brenda to leave us so soon.

After I left the house, I just felt lost. For the longest time, I kept expecting to see emails from Spirit of the Dove in my inbox. I still find myself wanting to send her links that I think she would find interesting. Sometimes when I look out my window, I expect to see her car pulling out of the driveway across the street. Even now, it is so hard to believe she is gone.

But I know that she and my mom are up in Heaven, raising hell (if anybody could raise hell in Heaven, it would be those two), and smiling down at those who miss them.. wishing that we weren't spending so much time grieving over them, and praying for us. Good-bye Brenda, you are missed and loved by all of us who knew you.


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Special thanks to Spirit of the Dove for the picture used on this page.