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<\/a><\/p>\nOn June 29, 2014, my dear SistaFriend, Mrs. Lakisha Michelle Fitzgerald Mitchell, transitioned from earth to eternity. \u00a0We had been sisters, friends, confidants, laughing buddies, prayer partners, and leaning posts for what seemed like forever, but was really almost a couple of decades. \u00a0I never had a biological sister. \u00a0She was more than my sister \u2013 she was MY GIRL! \u00a0Upon taking a few moments to reflect on where I was and what I was doing this time last year, I was met with a flood of emotions that I\u2019d never experienced, even during her time of transition. \u00a0Reflective tears and grief are good things! \u00a0While there is no expiration date on my tears, the process of grief is infinitely instructive. \u00a0It\u2019s not a pretty process. \u00a0It\u2019s not a linear process. \u00a0Sometimes it feels like taking two steps forward and three steps back. \u00a0There is no end date. \u00a0It just takes what it takes. \u00a0However, what it has taken has blessed my life in innumerable ways. \u00a0I share this reflection, not to solely bring attention to my relationship with my SistaFriend, but to offer an opportunity for you to understand my experience, strength and hope. \u00a0You will clearly read my experience. \u00a0You may or may not perceive my strength. \u00a0However, it is my most earnest desire that my undying hope in the human potential to embody the power of love will be unmistakably evident. \u00a0That is what my SistaFriend taught me: the endless, human capacity to embody Divine love.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s been a year since you physically left me and spiritually made your Divine transition. I\u2019m thinking about what I was doing this time last year: busy (as always), looking back at your last message to me when you said \u201cYou good?\u201d \u00a0I said, \u201cGirl, we both got this!\u201d \u00a0That was May 30th and I messaged you 3 more times in the next couple of weeks. I got no answer back. I finally called Bre and he said I needed to come. I knew\u2026 I packed my bag with a week\u2019s worth of clothes, got on the road, and got myself emotionally ready for what I knew would be the last time we\u2019d be together on this side. I knew my job: be there for Bre, bring peace to the environment, pray through the house, and share your love with everyone that came through the door. We didn\u2019t spend a lot of time together; just 15-20 minutes in the mornings. I\u2019d read to you, pray over you, and watch you make the journey to your glorious rest. I don\u2019t have words for that experience. I can only say thank you to you and Bre. \u00a0My only prayer during those few days was that God give you rest and soothe Bre\u2019s heart. You prepared all of us in your own special, powerful way. \u00a0Even in our last conversation a few weeks before you left, when I thought my time had come and gone, you said, \u201cNo! I feel a new yes in you!\u201d You prepared me for the life I\u2019m enjoying right now. I\u2019m living my dream and you knew it was coming. \u00a0Love is a word that cannot contain what I have for you, my DivaSistaAngelFriend! Even now, you\u2019re still with me. That\u2019s why the saying is true: love never dies! \u00a0Our SisterLove will never die. For that, I\u2019ll simply say THANK YOU. #LoveIsEverything<\/p>\n
Dr. Kimberly Chandler\u00a0<\/a>currently serves as an Assistant Professor of Communication and Women Studies at Xavier University in New Orleans. Her research focuses on gender and communication in relation to the performance of gender.\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On June 29, 2014, my dear SistaFriend, Mrs. Lakisha Michelle Fitzgerald Mitchell, transitioned from earth to eternity. \u00a0We had been sisters, friends, confidants, laughing buddies, prayer partners, and leaning posts for what seemed like forever, but was really almost a couple of decades. \u00a0I never had a biological sister. \u00a0She was more than my sister […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3202,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[709,102,708],"class_list":["post-3759","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-reflections","tag-eulogy","tag-kimberly-chandler","tag-reflections"],"yoast_head":"\n
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