We had a celebration of life service for someone near and dear to my heart last night. She was my sister in Christ, my lawyer, my friend, my advocate, and one of the biggest encouragers I’ve ever had in my life.

Those of us who knew and loved her, knew her as Wonder Woman. And…she really was…

It has taken me weeks to write this. Sometimes words don’t seem sufficient. With Susan Carroll that is absolute truth.

There are so many memories I could share. It’s hard to narrow it down to just a hand full.

I guess if I could sum up the eternal influence this special lady has had on my life, it would be that she believed in me, when I didn’t even believe in myself.

She held my hand. She prayed with me. She encouraged me. I loved her. ❤️

Some of my fav memories:

When I first met Susan it was at church. She wore these awesome, bright red, leather, cowgirl boots. I loved them and would tell her often. She told me to get a pair too, which I did, but later decided they were way too uncomfortable to wear very often.

Another super cool memory was attending a party for her dog, Ziva. Susan was a Family Attorney. She worked in the court system and saw the toil it takes on children. That’s why it was so vitally important to her to have Ziva trained and certified to be a service dog in the Bay County Courthouse.

We met at Finns and had a luncheon. Ziva had a special, pink outfit on, and we had cake. Susan blessed everyone with lunch because that was just part of her generous spirit.

Another fav memory was when she hosted one of our oily meetings at her house the Saturday prior to Hurricane Michael. She had a perfect house for get togethers, and we had a house full of ladies.

Of course this was Saturday, so none of us knew that just four days later our town would be crushed by the monster.

I remember after everyone left, we were sitting in her home office, and talking about future classes, wellness, faith, and just random stuff. Susan had a way of sharing and listening with real earnestness. I felt comfortable and so loved. 🤗

Another memory that makes me giggle, was when we were at Susan’s home in Kings Point and she decided she wanted her couch moved upstairs.

Four of us ladies were like no problem and we grabbed the couch and attempted to get it up the stairs. Problem being the couch and all of us couldn’t fit in the same small stairway space. We basically stood it up on its side but it literally never ascended. 😳

I proposed bringing my sons by the following day to move this stubborn couch. They hoisted it up the stairs in like two seconds. I remember Susan and I just stood there looking a each other amazed.

Another time she blessed me, was about a month or two after the hurricane, I posted on Facebook that I was looking for a storage space for my stuff. We had lost our rental home in the storm and were living in a friend’s condo, and storing our furniture that survived at another friend’s house.

Immediately after I posted it, Susan contacted me and offered up her garage to store my household goods.

As we were talking she paused for a minute and said,”What you really need is a place to live.” I agreed that was the real need. She told me she had spoken with a friend that very day, who told her she just had a rental open up. Needless to say, because of Susan, we moved in our home right before Christmas that year.

Some of my sweetest memories with Susan were some of my very worse….

She held my hands, prayed for me, and walked me through some of my darkest days. I can honestly say I would not have made it through without her.

Fond memories continue to flood my heart…

After I started my own business, Susan constantly sent me clients, encouraged me, hosted classes with Lawana and I, and purchased products.

We talked about a little future collaboration at her office, where I would share essential oils with her clients, who were going through some of the most stressful times in their lives.

I told her about aromatherapy and she of course encouraged me to go get my certification; assuring me she would be first in line to get a massage. As of now I still haven’t sought the training, but because Susan believed in me, I will.

The last time I saw Susan in person was at the beginning of the year, when I attended a women’s conference. Susan was one of the amazing speakers.

She shared testimony that the first 15 years that she was a lawyer, she tried to get out of it, because she wanted to be in ministry instead. It wasn’t until that time she realized she was called to “marketplace ministry” and then fully embraced it.

Lord knows the world needs more attorneys like Susan Carroll.

That same day she also shared that Lord had given her a word many years ago, and it was just now coming to fruition.

“You will be a woman of integrity. You will be known in the community.”

There were no truer words. Susan walked in integrity. She loved Jesus, loved people, loved empowering women, loved her dogs, loved gardening, AND loved her chickens.

The last time I texted Susan questions about gardening, she answered all my questions, then told me about her chickens. She really was becoming a “chicken lady”.

If God had asked my opinion, I would have proclaimed that I wasn’t ready for Susan Carroll to leave this earth. My heart already feels the void where Wonder Woman once stood.

But now that I now know that she ran up the mountain into the arms of Jesus. (Thanks for sharing Dot) I know she is dancing before the Lord, and I know without a shadow of doubt I will see her again soon.

In the meanwhile….

I’m going to live like Susan. I’m going to love lavishly, praise mightily, give generously, empower purposefully, grow a garden, walk in integrity, and embrace life fully, maybe all of that minus the chickens….