Eleasha and I first met as little girls in Children’s Church over 30 years ago. From the minute I met her, she was singing. She was always known as the little girl with the voice. Any time there was a church play or event where the kids were involved, Eleasha was singing. She was the “go-to girl” because she could sing anything at any age.
We really became close when we both moved to Florida. I was 12 and she was 11. We were all each other had at the time. Two dark-haired, Italian Jersey girls uprooted and planted in a sea of blond surfer kids. (Florida was very different back then!)
We lived around the corner from each other and were always together. And, anytime we were, there was some type of choreography involved in our play date. We were constantly making up dances. I would just follow Eleasha’s lead—she was so gifted and artistic. We grew closer as we spent time in church together as well. Cornerstone was just in its beginnings, holding services at the Lyon’s Club and Eleasha and I were appointed as the Children’s Church teachers. (Scary!) We had no idea what we were doing, but we loved kids and would sit and do crafts with them through every service.
Our friendship grew over that next year, with many dances, makeovers and sleepovers that young girls have. Then, one day Eleasha went to New Jersey to visit, and while she was there, my family decided that we were moving back to New Jersey. Eleasha didn’t find out anything until she came back to Florida, and I was gone. There were no cell phones or FaceBook back then to get in touch with each other. To this day, she would joke to my parents that she never got over the fact that they took me away like a thief in the night.
As we grew older and lived 1000 miles away, we grew apart, but we would see each other when I would vacation in Florida. We would always meet up, go out with friends, and eventually go out with our husbands and daughters. After we both had our daughters, I started to visit Florida regularly, and we became especially close again. I would see Eleasha every March, and then I had my daughter. She and Hope would play together from the time they were babies. We would often be watching them play, and then sit back and say, “Oh my God, we have kids! We are grown ups!” Then we would crack up laughing. We couldn’t believe that we were watching our little girls play together and we were actually moms.
Over the years we would reconnect every March, have dinner, go to the beach, and of course, talk throughout the year. Eleasha eventually was the one who taught me how to potty-train my daughter in three days at two years of age. She called me every day and cheered me on. She encouraged me to get healthy and eat right, and she was so proud when I did. She was always a cheerleader for her friends, no matter what she was going through herself.
We kept in touch in between our visits; we would talk and text often. I cried with her through many of her struggles and celebrated with her through her victories. Eleasha had been through more in 21 years than most people have ever been, or should ever have to go through in a lifetime. She had her low days and her difficult days, but she was such a warrior through it all. She often credited her strength to the Lord first, and also to her parents and her upbringing. She was always saying how she hoped to be half the mother that her mom Janet was to her. She couldn’t get through her bad days without her. And, as for her dad, well, she always said he is her hero. She repeatedly said he set such a perfect example of what a father and husband should be, and taught her what to look for in a husband. She loved her parents so much, and that was a true testament of the wonderful job they did raising her.
This past March when I saw her last, we made plans to meet up at the beach, but the weather kept getting in the way, and we had to reschedule. We finally had a sunny day, but she woke up very sick that morning. She told me she was having a bad day, and I told her not to worry about it, we could meet up another day for dinner. She refused. It was Hope’s spring break and she had promised her a day at the beach, and didn’t want to disappoint her.
My family and I got to the beach first that day. Eleasha texted when she got there, but she could barely talk. I could tell she was in a lot of pain. My husband Jason went out to the car to help her carry her bags. She asked him to take Hope with him onto the beach so she could take her time getting there, and not get Hope upset by seeing her struggle. When she got to the beach, I could see the pain all over her. She had her bad days, but this day she was in a lot of pain. She sat next to me, but I could barely hear her talk. What struck me was that the pain didn’t matter to her. She still got out of bed, packed her bags, loaded a car and drove to the beach with her daughter because that is what mattered to Eleasha: Hope, and making sure she was never negatively affected by Eleasha’s illness. She could’ve stayed in bed that day, and she probably should have. But, Eleasha was determined to give Hope the day at the beach she had promised. She was such a true testimony of a mother’s love and sacrifice.
I last spoke with Eleasha a week before she died. She texted me in the middle of the night to pray for her. After seeing her battle for 21 years, I just thought she would overcome this latest obstacle like she always had in the past. But, God had other plans.
While my heart absolutely breaks for Eleasha’s family, especially her daughter, I will continue to trust in God’s divine wisdom. Isaiah 55:8, 9 says “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, declares the Lord. As the Heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.” While our hearts are broken and we are grieving and do not understand why these things happen, we have HOPE in the Lord, knowing His ways are higher than ours. He knows better than we do, and He sees the bigger picture.
I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that Eleasha was put on this earth for a purpose. And, I believe Hope was given to her to carry out that purpose. Through her daughter, her legacy will be carried out and the prophetic words spoken over her will be fulfilled, bringing people to the Lord. And that is exactly what Eleasha would have wanted. If she could talk to us from Heaven today, if she could post on FaceBook from her mansion, I know that she would tell us all to give our lives fully to Jesus and to follow Him wholeheartedly. She would stress to us to focus on eternity and not the earthly things that are temporal. What she would want for each of us whom she loved dearly is to have eternal life so she could be with us again in Heaven.
I love you, Lee.
