Karin FaulknerSeptember 28, 1973 – December 15, 2008
My very dear friend, Karin Faulkner, until yesterday was in the midst of a dire battle with Kidney cancer. Although my heart aches for all of her friends and family members (most specifically for her parents, husband, and three adoptive children), I am so happy that our Lord has ended Karin’s pain and suffering that I have witnessed firsthand, for she now will live eternal life happily ever after.
Karin died tonight at 11:40. Through my sadness in her passing, I could not help feeling great peace. Saint Karin is with her Savior now. No more pain! Only happiness! Heaven has a new Princess! And, as always, God calls me to write literature through tragedy. It's usually poetry, though, but this time is different, . . . this time it's prose:
The Very True Story of a Heavenly Princess
One upon a time and not so very long ago there lived a beautiful young girl with long, curly brown hair. She was a happy-go-lucky little girl with a Mom and a Dad who helped her grow to love the Lord. No matter where the little girl went, she could always make everyone smile. And with just a simple word or just a simple skip, she brought happiness to all around her.
She grew in grace and beauty and intelligence (and a special knack for planning), and it wasn’t long before the little girl with long, curly brown hair became the beautiful woman with long, curly brown hair. And this young woman was so very tall, so incredibly graceful, and with such beautifully slender fingers that she knew she was called to play the harp.
The harp: a beautiful instrument capable of indescribable melodies, heavenly harmonies, and inspirer of peace. And even though every harp has its own special sound, no other harp had as special a harpist. Ah, another way to play my Lord sweet hymns of praise,” said the beautiful woman with long brown curly hair as she strummed and plucked her way into Gods heart and into the hearts of countless others through her kindness, gentleness and great love.
But the harp was not the only instrument in the life of this beautiful woman with the curly brown hair, for it wasn’t long before she went in search of a handsome young prince. And after searching far and wide, in many distant lands, she finally came to find him in a far off Kingdom of California. And everyone agreed, “What a strange place to find her Christian Prince!” But no one doubted the Prince’s great Faithfulness to his Lord or his undying love for the beautiful woman with the curly, brown hair. And it was this undying love that inspired others to perfect their love and their Christian unity.
Soon there was a grand wedding ceremony in the grandest of the Kingdoms: the Kingdom of Toronto. People came from far and wide to see the happy couple join in marriage before their Lord, wishing them every grace and happiness. And they were happy, this handsome prince and this beautiful woman with the curly brown hair. But their happiness was not complete, . . . and so they gathered in their arms their amazing graces, their crown jewels, their shining stars, their bright sunshines, their Pretty Pretty Princesses, their Keenie Beanies, and their Kevie-Kev-Buddy-Babydoll-Ham-sandwiches. Gathering in her arms, three princes and princesses from all over the world in order to rid the world of loneliness, inspire love and joy, and expand the breadth of God’s adoptive family. And these princes and princesses also grew in grace and beauty and intelligence under the loving hand of the beautiful young woman with the long, curly brown hair.
The first prince was a strapping young lad from the far off land of Russia. And from the Siberian snow of the earth in the upper most regions of the world he came, laughing and smiling (and sometimes roughhousing) as he loved our Lord. And he graced our land with tenderness and activeness and pure joy.
And his name was Kevin.
The second prince was as bright as a star and as sharp as a tack from the far away land of Vietnam. And from the rice in the field in this tropical paradise he came, laughing and talking and smiling (and signing “more”) as he loved our Lord. And he graced our land with cleverness and gentleness and pure joy.
And his name was Kien.
And the beautiful woman with the curly, brown hair had one special princess with hair as black as ebony. And she was as darling at the buds of May again from the far away land of Vietnam. And from the rice fields in this tropical paradise she came, laughing and smiling and eating (and sometimes biting). And she graced our land with resourcefulness and ingenuity and pure joy.
And her name was Aria.
The beautiful woman with the curly, brown hair remained steadfast in faith through all of her many trails and great sufferings. And when it was time for her to meet her holy Savior, even though everyone throughout the land proclaimed it to be much too soon, the harps on earth as well as the bells above tolled her entrance into heaven, as all of God’s creation chanted an echo of her final words: “I only know that God is good.” These words echoed throughout the land (even the Kingdom of California), and they inspired many nations to love the Lord and serve Him all of their days.
And from this echo, the beautiful woman with the curly brown hair became a beautiful soul called to heaven on a sunbeam in the sunrise of our Lord. And, oh, how the world was sad to lose her but what joy awaits her in the arms of her Savior whom, when she appeared, greeted her with open arms as she had always done to the least of her brethren. And her savior said, Beautiful woman with the curly brown hair, you are certainly among my faithful, for when I was naked, and you clothed me. I was sick, and you took care of me. I was in prison, and you visited me. Come, enter my heavenly kingdome with great joy! Come, play the harp for Me! And suddenly she became radiant with heavenly light, her garment white as snow . and her melodies heard all over heaven above and on earth below
And as the Lord sat in delight at His creation. The beautiful woman with the curly brown hair first heard the choirs of angels, “Ah, my Love, behold! Our Father, the Lord of Hosts, our Heavenly King. Yes, our Heavenly King. And Unified by the holy spirit. And observe Jesus, the Son of God, the Prince of Peace. Yes, the Prince of Heaven. And observe his Queen, Mary most Holy, adoptive mother of all. Yes, Mary most Holy. And up until now, we have had all but one, . . . all but our Heavenly Princess. So welcome! Welcome faithful one, beautiful woman with the curly brown hair. Welcome dear one, comforter, and special joy, . . . become our Princess of Heaven.”
And Jesus smiled upon the beautiful woman with the curly brown hair, for He saw that she was not only a beautiful woman but a beautiful soul, this new Princess of Heaven. And he gathered her to His arms and clothed her in royal robes. Her train was a pink velvet trimmed in the most elegant white fur. Her dress was a scoop-neck and empire waist, revealing the light pink tulle beneath, a rainbow of every color pink imaginable: rose, carnation, coral, orchid, plum, magenta, and fuscia. The true attire of a princess. Upon her head, He placed a shining silver tiara set with pink sapphires and diamonds. And on her feet were two of the most delicate glass slippers from one of her favorite fairytales. Ah, but this is a fairytale come true.
And standing there clothed in light, happiness, and peace, she vowed not to leave her children in darkness but to spend her heaven doing good on earh. And she still looks down, to this day, the beautiful Princess of Heaven, still inspiring that same love, that same joy, . . . still able to rid the world of loneliness, and still beautiful with her brown, curly hair, . . . still living happily ever after.
And her name is Saint Karin.
Intercede and pray for us, dear Princess of Heaven,
One upon a time and not so very long ago there lived a beautiful young girl with long, curly brown hair. She was a happy-go-lucky little girl with a Mom and a Dad who helped her grow to love the Lord. No matter where the little girl went, she could always make everyone smile. And with just a simple word or just a simple skip, she brought happiness to all around her.
She grew in grace and beauty and intelligence (and a special knack for planning), and it wasn’t long before the little girl with long, curly brown hair became the beautiful woman with long, curly brown hair. And this young woman was so very tall, so incredibly graceful, and with such beautifully slender fingers that she knew she was called to play the harp.
The harp: a beautiful instrument capable of indescribable melodies, heavenly harmonies, and inspirer of peace. And even though every harp has its own special sound, no other harp had as special a harpist. Ah, another way to play my Lord sweet hymns of praise,” said the beautiful woman with long brown curly hair as she strummed and plucked her way into Gods heart and into the hearts of countless others through her kindness, gentleness and great love.
But the harp was not the only instrument in the life of this beautiful woman with the curly brown hair, for it wasn’t long before she went in search of a handsome young prince. And after searching far and wide, in many distant lands, she finally came to find him in a far off Kingdom of California. And everyone agreed, “What a strange place to find her Christian Prince!” But no one doubted the Prince’s great Faithfulness to his Lord or his undying love for the beautiful woman with the curly, brown hair. And it was this undying love that inspired others to perfect their love and their Christian unity.
Soon there was a grand wedding ceremony in the grandest of the Kingdoms: the Kingdom of Toronto. People came from far and wide to see the happy couple join in marriage before their Lord, wishing them every grace and happiness. And they were happy, this handsome prince and this beautiful woman with the curly brown hair. But their happiness was not complete, . . . and so they gathered in their arms their amazing graces, their crown jewels, their shining stars, their bright sunshines, their Pretty Pretty Princesses, their Keenie Beanies, and their Kevie-Kev-Buddy-Babydoll-Ham-sandwiches. Gathering in her arms, three princes and princesses from all over the world in order to rid the world of loneliness, inspire love and joy, and expand the breadth of God’s adoptive family. And these princes and princesses also grew in grace and beauty and intelligence under the loving hand of the beautiful young woman with the long, curly brown hair.
The first prince was a strapping young lad from the far off land of Russia. And from the Siberian snow of the earth in the upper most regions of the world he came, laughing and smiling (and sometimes roughhousing) as he loved our Lord. And he graced our land with tenderness and activeness and pure joy.
And his name was Kevin.
The second prince was as bright as a star and as sharp as a tack from the far away land of Vietnam. And from the rice in the field in this tropical paradise he came, laughing and talking and smiling (and signing “more”) as he loved our Lord. And he graced our land with cleverness and gentleness and pure joy.
And his name was Kien.
And the beautiful woman with the curly, brown hair had one special princess with hair as black as ebony. And she was as darling at the buds of May again from the far away land of Vietnam. And from the rice fields in this tropical paradise she came, laughing and smiling and eating (and sometimes biting). And she graced our land with resourcefulness and ingenuity and pure joy.
And her name was Aria.
The beautiful woman with the curly, brown hair remained steadfast in faith through all of her many trails and great sufferings. And when it was time for her to meet her holy Savior, even though everyone throughout the land proclaimed it to be much too soon, the harps on earth as well as the bells above tolled her entrance into heaven, as all of God’s creation chanted an echo of her final words: “I only know that God is good.” These words echoed throughout the land (even the Kingdom of California), and they inspired many nations to love the Lord and serve Him all of their days.
And from this echo, the beautiful woman with the curly brown hair became a beautiful soul called to heaven on a sunbeam in the sunrise of our Lord. And, oh, how the world was sad to lose her but what joy awaits her in the arms of her Savior whom, when she appeared, greeted her with open arms as she had always done to the least of her brethren. And her savior said, Beautiful woman with the curly brown hair, you are certainly among my faithful, for when I was naked, and you clothed me. I was sick, and you took care of me. I was in prison, and you visited me. Come, enter my heavenly kingdome with great joy! Come, play the harp for Me! And suddenly she became radiant with heavenly light, her garment white as snow . and her melodies heard all over heaven above and on earth below
And as the Lord sat in delight at His creation. The beautiful woman with the curly brown hair first heard the choirs of angels, “Ah, my Love, behold! Our Father, the Lord of Hosts, our Heavenly King. Yes, our Heavenly King. And Unified by the holy spirit. And observe Jesus, the Son of God, the Prince of Peace. Yes, the Prince of Heaven. And observe his Queen, Mary most Holy, adoptive mother of all. Yes, Mary most Holy. And up until now, we have had all but one, . . . all but our Heavenly Princess. So welcome! Welcome faithful one, beautiful woman with the curly brown hair. Welcome dear one, comforter, and special joy, . . . become our Princess of Heaven.”
And Jesus smiled upon the beautiful woman with the curly brown hair, for He saw that she was not only a beautiful woman but a beautiful soul, this new Princess of Heaven. And he gathered her to His arms and clothed her in royal robes. Her train was a pink velvet trimmed in the most elegant white fur. Her dress was a scoop-neck and empire waist, revealing the light pink tulle beneath, a rainbow of every color pink imaginable: rose, carnation, coral, orchid, plum, magenta, and fuscia. The true attire of a princess. Upon her head, He placed a shining silver tiara set with pink sapphires and diamonds. And on her feet were two of the most delicate glass slippers from one of her favorite fairytales. Ah, but this is a fairytale come true.
And standing there clothed in light, happiness, and peace, she vowed not to leave her children in darkness but to spend her heaven doing good on earh. And she still looks down, to this day, the beautiful Princess of Heaven, still inspiring that same love, that same joy, . . . still able to rid the world of loneliness, and still beautiful with her brown, curly hair, . . . still living happily ever after.
And her name is Saint Karin.
Intercede and pray for us, dear Princess of Heaven,
dear Saint Karin, that we may, too, someday know your joy.
1 comment:
Oh, Noelle, how beautiful! and so true! what a fitting tribute to dear Saint Karin! Love - Mom
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