Tonna

We all have someone in our lives who exude the spirit of Christ everywhere. Tonna Cervantes was one of those people for me. I never saw her very much after she and husband left Abilene for greener pastures. They had just finished a short service as youth ministers at Minter Lane. She would sometimes drop into Lecureship to hear Zoe and pass on extravagant praise for Brandon. The last time I saw her, she had taken a few days off to come to Abilene to see a dear friend. They came to Highland, and we had lunch together. Tonna spoke as if God and Jesus were close relatives with whom she had daily conversations and who audibly visited her. She was a seeker and questioner who was burdened with the church's vision of women, and she often got down and loud about it. Though troubled by a wayward child and cancer, I never saw her depressed or unhappy with her life--just trusting, trusting.

Tonna is now in the presence of God praising him for the ages with the rest of the saints. She died this week of cancer.