We went on a double date about a year ago with a couple that we had known since we got married almost twenty-five years ago. Their daughters sang in the choir at our wedding, and they were pregnant with a boy who would one day be in the same class as our oldest. Greg and Lisa Sipe had always been examples for us as a married couple, even if their family lived states away. I remember Lisa posting about her kids’ school on social media, and that post was instrumental in our family moving to Texas. She was so excited to share about the school her kids were going to, and I was convinced that the school would help my family grow in holiness. 

That double date was the last time I saw Lisa in this world. She had just started her fight with cancer and was very hopeful that she would beat it and live to serve her family for a long time. She was joyful, radiant, and confident. Again, on that day, I looked up to her as a role model mother, someone that I hoped to imitate even more than the women in the saint books that I’d read. She was a holy woman who has a holy family. A holy family is the goal of all Catholic mothers, and it is a joy to see the Holy Family reflected in so many families that I know.  

I am so glad to still know and talk to Lisa, even though her soul has left this world. I turn to her often to inspire me to see God’s will for my children, as Mary and Joseph did today in the Gospel. It is a challenge to maintain the flexibility to be open to a will that I do not understand, and the intercession of friends like Lisa gives me the strength to mold my will in uniformity with his.  

Lisa Sipe was a Mighty is Her Call blog contributor. She poignantly shared with us her battle with stage four cancer here: Suffering in Christ. Lisa was called home to the Father on October 12, 2024.