the queen of iowa

picture i took w/ my phone in seattle

i miss my aunt diann.
she passed away in february, 2006 after a very long and courageous battle with lung cancer. she was that rare non smoker diagnosed with a very aggressive form of the awful disease. but if you knew my aunt, it wouldn't surprise you that she far surpassed the diagnosis in every way. she fought it for 28 months. that is 22 more months than they told her she would live. take that cancer! she was very good at letting you be "who you are" i felt at ease around her. she had a wonderful laugh and beautiful handwriting. i still look at letters she wrote me to admire each curve. when i saw pictures of her final days, i couldn't imagine asking her to stay here for all of us. that is no way to live. i ran my first (and only) marathon in honor of her. it's a beautiful story...that maybe i will share later, but i remember feeling her presence there. it hit me at mile 25 when a woman wearing a sandwich board that said "thank you, love a cancer survivor" cheered me on as i stumbled by. what hit me was...that no matter how much pain i felt...it was nothing like my aunt had faced. and no matter the amount of unbearable pain, she still managed to let me know she was glad to see me. how lucky am i to have known a woman like her?


at her service, a wonderful musician played songs that truly matched her vivacious spirit. the following song by andrew peterson was one of them.

I met the queen of Iowa
She was dying on a couch in the suburbs
And with all of the things she was dying of
She was more alive than the others

She was pretty as a flower in a crystal vase
It lights up the room as it withers away
And she opened her eyes
When she heard the music play

We sang a hymn to the rhythm of the river that flows
Down from the mountain of the Holy Ghost
And into the souls
Of those who know His name
Like the Queen of Iowa
She was the Queen of Iowa

Her majesty was all ablaze
She was burning hot but not consumed
Our shoes removed in that holy place
In the hallowed ground of the living room

I bowed down low and I kissed her hand
And we raised a toast to the Promised Land
And I saw the tears of joy
Run down her face

We sang a hymn to the rhythm of the river that flows
Down from the mountain of the Holy Ghost
And into the souls
Of those who know His name
Like the Queen of Iowa
Find More lyrics at www.sweetslyrics.com 
(Peace like a river in a valley of bones
It fills the valley up and it carries them home)
She was the Queen of Iowa
(Bridge)
I could see my illusions scatter
Every time she drew a breath
I could see the heart of the matter:
The heart is a matter of life and death
I’ll never be the same

We sang about oceans of love again
As she stared past the ceiling and the sky above
Two court musicians, it was me and Ben
We were singing for the Queen of Iowa

We sang a hymn to the rhythm of the river that flows
Down from the mountain of the Holy Ghost
And into the souls
Of those who know His name
There was peace like a river in a valley of bones
It fills the valley up and it carries them home
To come alive again
In the river of Grace
Like the Queen of Iowa