In Memory of Stacy
I’m sharing here the tribute to my sweet friend that I published earlier this week on Facebook and Instagram….
On Tuesday night I learned that one of the women in my local writers’ group had passed away suddenly. Stacy Simmons had surgery a week ago. This past Friday, I texted her to check on her and she responded right away, saying that she was doing well and hoping to be released from the hospital that day. Sure enough, later on Friday she was sent home to recover. Our group met without her Monday night, talked about how glad we were that all indications were that she was doing well and healing, and prayed over her. The next evening a family member posted that she’d died from complications from surgery. The news is a gut-punch to all of us.
We gathered for high tea in August. Stacy’s on the right.
Our group has been meeting here in the Dallas area for more than five years and we were so very blessed by Stacy’s involvement and friendship. She loved the writing community and took great joy in knowing and encouraging and supporting fellow writers. Her feed is filled with posts that spread the word about other people’s books. That was Stacy — humble, gentle, sweet, funny, happy, focused on others.
The words I heard her say the most often across the years were, “Thank you.” Second to that, she’d often use the term “book baby” for her current manuscript. She’d joke in her self-deprecating way and say, “My book baby is ugly y’all,” then laugh. But in everyone else’s “book babies” she saw beauty and skill. She valued people and she valued Christian fiction and she valued her beloved husband and daughters.
Stacy’s on the right
Stacy’s passing gives me an opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate all the writers, like Stacy, who feel called by God to write fiction for His glory. And spend years and untold hours doing just that. I’m thankful that Stacy’s debut book, A Promise for Faith, released this past January. Her novella collection released the day before her surgery. And her next book is scheduled to release this coming January. The timing was such that Stacy was able to experience the joy and achievement of seeing her work in print before going home to Heaven. She brought honor to the Lord through her creativity, obedience, and dedication. And she was a kind-hearted friend to many.
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” 1 Corinthians 13:4-8
