My friendship with Elaine started just a few years ago. I met her at our Mom's group at Trinity Church right before Meredith was born. I have a daughter, Rachel, who is just a little bit older then Meredith, so I was so happy to have another little baby girl in the nursery.
A little later, I remember how happy I was to hear that she would be coming on as a part of our leadership team. This was my chance to get to know her better through our small group leader's meetings. It was a special time to get to know all the ins and outs of her life, pray with her, and serve with her in a ministry together. She had a deep faith and knowledge of the bible, and always tried to dig for the truth in any scripture she was studying or in any talk she was presenting.
Elaine was such a classy, elegant, beautiful woman. I always admired how she persevered to keep herself in shape and tried to eat fresh and healthy food. I have since learned that Patrick also has high healthy standards in his diet. More than how she looked, I always loved her generous, caring and thoughtful spirit. Through most of our friendship, Elaine was fighting illness, but she always tried hard not to complain and to keep moving forward, thinking positively. She knew God loved her in a mighty way! I admired her fighting spirit!
I have two stories I would like to share about Elaine:
Elaine wore a white beautiful frilly sweater that I just adored. When I think of Elaine, I always think of that sweater. Every time she wore it, I would tell her how much I loved it. She was so good at putting coordinated outfits together with all their accessories. She told me she bought it at a boutique in Oregon. On her next trip to Oregon, to my wonderful surprise, she had found a black sweater just like her white one, but in my size at that same boutique. The next time I saw her at church, she had a beautifully wrapped box that she presented to me. I opened it up, and there it was-an undeserved gift! What a sweet and generous lady!
At our women's retreat last year, I had the privilege and honor or going on a hike with Elaine and several other ladies. As it happened, Elaine and I were able to hike together for most of it. Of course, she could have easily gone way ahead of me because believe me, she had those long legs and exercised way more often than I did, but she chose to stay with me and another girl so we could we have some good conversation. I will never forget that hike. It was such a beautiful walk in the woods, getting to know each other, read scriptures planted a long the way by our hiking guides, and our friendship seemed to blossom even more. You see Elaine cared about our relationship more than she cared about being first on the hike (although I think we did end up in the front of the pack because of how much she motivated us to keep hiking).
I really loved Elaine, and I wish we could have had so many more walks, small group meetings, and times when our children could have played while we just talked and laughed. I know she is up in Heaven enjoying every wonderful experience with Jesus, and I know we will get that chance again. I miss her. Thank you for your friendship Elaine!
Love, Julie Bruechert
These pictures are from my daughter's birthday party last summer. Elaine and Meredith were having a ball in the pool!
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