Jessica Pety

A year ago today, Jessica Pety died in a car wreck. The news was shocking and sorrowful for me and all of her dear friends. Jess was preparing to be a missionary in Spain for 18 months, and was in training at the time of her death. Jessica and I were room mates at the Beach Project 2 summers ago- we had 2 other girls in our room too, and all of us got really close. Jess and I bonded late at night, as we both liked to stay up late and chat, and those are some of the best memories I have. I have to admit to you, that she was more than a friend to me, she was a discipler to me in the way she lived her life and the way she believed in me as a disciple of Christ. In my heart I will never understand why God chose to take her, but I do know that she is happier than she has ever been- she was so in love with Christ.

Things that I remember fondly about her-

-she loved movies! And had a ton of them

-she needed alot of rest and would often sleep in late

-Jess loved reading John Piper sermons

-she loved being around people, talking with people, and had the most relational capacity of anyone I have ever known in my life

-before bed at night, Jess would always take her Bible with her to bed and read some of it before she fell asleep

-like me, she had no sense of direction! We have gotten lost together plenty of times

-we bonded over our love for shopping & food

-she always twirled her hair when she was listening to you

-jess was very close to her family like me

well i could write on and on and on...but i want to type a card she wrote me at the end of our summer together because it means so much to me:

"My darling Lindsay Owens,

I cannot even say in words how grateful and lucky I feel that I got to be in your room this sumer. Lindsay, it has been so fun to just get to know you-the real, crazy Lindsay that I have grown to love so much.

I want to thank you, Lindsay, for your friendship this summer-for loving me, accepting me and giving me grace, and for all the fun we had together. You have no idea how those little moments w/ you got me through the summer. It was such a gift to be able to feel the freedom to just be myself around you, and you were such an encouragement when I was going through hard times and just needed someone to push me on. Lindsay it was also such a blessing to get to watch you grow and learn more about the LORD and your walk with Him this summer. Lindsay, what I saw in you was an open, humble, and teachable spirit. You always could talk about the things you struggle with without feeling like you have to make excuses or defend yourself. I loved getting to walk with you throughh issues such as your family, things that are hard at Furman, and struggles we share such as shopping. Thank you for being so open with me about those things. I learned so much from you this summer and was blessed beyond belief through your presence as a friend and fellow soldier in the room.

So.. its cool that we both go to furman b/c I know that this friendship can continue in the Fall and beyond! I'm so excited about accountability in August and pray that God will teach us and challenge us through that.

So, press on and keep fighting the fight, remembering that no matter what the world might tell us is gain, Christ is all we truly need!

Love always,

Jessica

" I thank my God every time I remember you"

I know that if she were here, she would be my greatest encourager.