While most of you would respond with, “No, I don’t know your cousin,” if you are fortunate, you know someone like her.  I wrote this about her in the dedication of my recent book, Diana “never ceases to amaze me with her determined faithfulness to overcome the challenging obstacles of this world in order to live out every single day that God has entrusted to her.”

Diana is one of my five cousins with whom I have had over six decades of wonderful memories.  It has been during the past seven years that I have grown to admire her spirit of determination to live a life, without giving up, that honors God.  I have watched her accept a cancer diagnosis seven years ago, in which they projected that she probably had a couple of years to live.  Yet those doctors didn’t know the faith of my cousin and her husband Ken, because she still had life to live.  With each piece of discouraging news, she looked for the next treatment that would address the current obstacle.  She always looked for solutions because she still had life to live.

In the last few months, it began to become evident that her “appointed time” to leave this life might be nearing.  Yet, with her indomitable attitude she continued her teacherly ways, tutoring students up to her last few weeks on this planet, because even in her last days, she still had life to live.

Diana left this temporal existence, entering into the presence of God on March 7th.  Even so, I can already imagine that God has her busy because she knows that He has life for her to live.  While her husband and family will miss her, as will I, I thank her for her “continued inspiration to purposefully live life!”