She sat down at the table like anyone else.

She watched and participated in the morning coffee and conversation.

Then out of nowhere she burst into tears and heavy sobs.

The McDonald’s Coffee Club, a collection of friends who met together each morning to shoot the breeze and share a meal, were quiet.

The awkwardness hung there like the smell of burnt coffee.

She kept crying.

Mumbling about how she didn’t know what she was going to do.

Her husband had just been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer and was given only a few weeks to live.

As a guest member of the club I didn’t feel like it was my place to speak, regardless of the fact that I was the “trained pastor.”

She sobbed and sobbed until a gentle voice broke the silence.

It was Bill Nix. My grandpa-in-law.

At 87 years old, he’d seen a few crises before.

“There, there. You got some good friends here.” He said, referring to the McDonald’s Coffee Club.

“You won’t go through this alone. You have good friends, and great neighbors.”

The neighbor happened to be him. He lived three doors down from her and her husband.

He hugged her and she buried her face into his jacket.

It was one of the most encouraging scenes I’d ever seen in my life.

“All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.”

It happened only seven short months before Bill passed away at the age 88.

He was an amazing man.

A good friend and great neighbor.