For Leslie ~ From Kris Camealy

How does one put into words the many ways Leslie has touched their life?! It seems an impossible task. I will simply share this sweet memory of time spent together at Hutchmoot.

The first time I met Leslie was when I attended Hutchmoot years ago. She welcomed me to the dinner table beside her and Ned, and we shared a conversation as if we’d been friends longer than the actual 5 minutes that had passed since we met. Leslie shared her heart for women in the church and let me share mine for the same subject, and we laughed and mmmhmm’ed and uh-huh’ed at each other’s stories and that was it!

Leslie made it so easy to love her. At the most recent Hutchmoot, we spent time together one afternoon with our rabbit mugs in hand, talking about harder things, heartbreaks and recoveries, losses and griefs, and I remember how even as the shadows passed between our words, the light in Leslie’s eyes never wavered. Her joy in the midst of it all seemed to hover right at the surface.

Leslie lived the Truth she believed about resurrection and new mercies. She offered it up in her poems and her prayers and in her advice and encouragement. Leslie always made room for others at her table. Every interaction I ever had with Leslie left me better for having had that time with her. What a gift she is. How I will miss the sparkle in her eye and the deep wisdom in her words. How I will miss her laughter and her welcome at the table. How grateful I am to have known her at all.

This tribute by Kris Camealy is part of an “In Memoriam” series we are running this week for our dear friend Leslie Anne Bustard. 

The featured image, “Lake District English Robin,” is courtesy of Lancia E. Smith and used with her glad permission for Cultivating.

Kris Camealy

As a sequin-wearing, homeschooling mother of four, Kris is passionate about Jesus, people and words. Her heart beats to share the glorious truth about life in Christ. She’s been known to take gratuitous pictures of her culinary creations, causing mouths to water all across Instagram. Serving as an advocate for Compassion International, Kris is Managing Editor of The Cultivating Table for Cultivating. She is the author of, Come, Lord Jesus: The Weight of Waiting and Holey, Wholly, Holy: A Lenten Journey of Refinement, and Everything is Yours. Kris is the founder and host of Refine {the retreat}. She writes at  kriscamealy.com.

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