Kate had just returned from her freshman year at Azusa Pacific University. Freshly reacquainted with family and friends, she was driving to work at Starbucks when the aneurism in her brain ruptured and robbed her of consciousness. She was 19.

Kate loved Jesus and loved people. “Unconditional” was a word that kept popping up at her memorial service on Saturday. She lived in a home and church culture that valued community, was a member of many small groups and led a group of junior high girls.

Of all the eulogies and memories of Kate that were shared on Saturday morning, one really struck me. Her younger sister, an 8th grader with the wisdom of a 50-something, said that if Kate could be “Queen of the World” she would have changed one thing. I couldn’t wait to hear what this remarkable young woman put at the top of her list. Poverty? Hunger? HIV/AIDS? Injustice? It was none of those, yet had implications for each of them.

Oneanother should be one word.

How could something so important, a word that she typed and texted daily, get that red squiggly line that implied that you had done something wrong? No, if Kate had a magic wand, everyone would realize the importance of Oneanother and it would be one word. She got it… and her life was an example of radical acceptance, inclusion, and community. If she could, she would help others get it, too.

Would Kate’s view of the world change the way you approach life? Would it affect the way you and your small group see others? Would your group still be closed?

“By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love oneanother."
John 13:35, KRV* translation.

*Katherine Rachelle Vaudrey
February 4, 1989 – June 2, 2008