We celebrated the life of my friend, Debbie Riebesehl, today. She was a bright light, a person whose commitment to the Lord and her family inspired everyone who had the chance to know her. She is also one of the best storytellers I’ve ever met.
She wrote about her life in a way that encouraged us to find humor in our humanness, too. Debbie’s stories were often laugh-out-loud funny – with her apologies to neighbors, wardrobe malfunctions, and the close call with the coyote. So today, when I spilled hot baked beans (that were meant for the family meal after her service) in the church parking lot, I invited as many people to laugh with me as I could. I loved that I could picture Debbie (and Dave) watching me from their spot at Jesus’ feet, getting a huge kick out of the ridiculousness of my bean-puddle-clean-up effort.
Debbie loved us well. Her humility helped us feel safe to be a person in progress. The “Debbie Story” that has impacted me the most was something she posted in 2016 when she went back to school; about how God changed her mind about her classmates when she let herself see them as they were, not as she had imagined them to be. Thank you, Jesus, for her example – I want to be more like Debbie!
I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:4-6
Kim Perry Writes 
Leave a comment