31 Days: Pathway to Perseverance - Come On In!
Every year as we approach November and begin to think about the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, memories of my mother flood my mind. She has been gone for eighteen years now, but I still miss her and carry with me a feeling of loss, especially during the holidays. Feelings of sadness do not cloud the happy memories. And, I cannot forget all of the wonderful lessons she taught me, sometimes with intent and sometimes simply by the way she lived and by the way she chose to spend her last days.
Although my mom struggled with a variety of illnesses, she really had no way of knowing that a diagnosis of Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma would start the clock ticking away a short six weeks before her home going. Yet, she managed to fill her last days with such meaning and fullness.
The day they discovered the cancer and the reason for my mom's unexplained pain. The reason for going from walking tall one day to wheelchair the next, she went into the hospital for treatment and comfort care. The medications are rough and can be mind stealing. Cancer strips emotions and responses to the very core. Underneath all of the ugliness that she was experiencing, my mom was pure beauty.
Through teeth clenched with pain, she prayed aloud and praised Jesus. Her eyes could no longer focus well enough to read, so she listened to tapes with scriptures and her favorite hymns. A well meaning visitor brought her a small stuffed bear with golden wings and when the paw was pressed exclaimed loudly, "I'm your guardian angel." My mom loved that little bear. She said that it opened up opportunities to talk about the real angels that she knew were waiting closely to usher her to Jesus.
I was blessed to be able to spend the nights with my mom while she was in the hospital. My dad worked at the hospital and he would visit during the day. One night as I turned the corner to my mom's room, I noticed her door was wide open and I could hear her talking to someone in full voice. She was talking about Jesus and she promised to pray. I don't know what happened next, but there was joyous laughter. I paused just to listen. When I finally had the courage to enter her room, my mom's face was literally glowing. She was excited and giddy. I asked her if I could close the door and she said, "No!" "If I leave the door open, my room is in the perfect position for people to make a wrong turn. But, I don't think it is a wrong turn, I think it is a right turn because maybe, just maybe, I can tell them about Jesus."
So, what would you do if you knew that your last days were around the corner? I ask myself that question, a lot. My mom knew and she choose to keep doing good, to use any means possible to bring others along. She didn't give up. She continued to fulfill her God-given, eternal purpose.
Photo Credit: http://rustyfoxfarm.com/2017/01/23/galatians-69/
Although my mom struggled with a variety of illnesses, she really had no way of knowing that a diagnosis of Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma would start the clock ticking away a short six weeks before her home going. Yet, she managed to fill her last days with such meaning and fullness.
The day they discovered the cancer and the reason for my mom's unexplained pain. The reason for going from walking tall one day to wheelchair the next, she went into the hospital for treatment and comfort care. The medications are rough and can be mind stealing. Cancer strips emotions and responses to the very core. Underneath all of the ugliness that she was experiencing, my mom was pure beauty.
Through teeth clenched with pain, she prayed aloud and praised Jesus. Her eyes could no longer focus well enough to read, so she listened to tapes with scriptures and her favorite hymns. A well meaning visitor brought her a small stuffed bear with golden wings and when the paw was pressed exclaimed loudly, "I'm your guardian angel." My mom loved that little bear. She said that it opened up opportunities to talk about the real angels that she knew were waiting closely to usher her to Jesus.
I was blessed to be able to spend the nights with my mom while she was in the hospital. My dad worked at the hospital and he would visit during the day. One night as I turned the corner to my mom's room, I noticed her door was wide open and I could hear her talking to someone in full voice. She was talking about Jesus and she promised to pray. I don't know what happened next, but there was joyous laughter. I paused just to listen. When I finally had the courage to enter her room, my mom's face was literally glowing. She was excited and giddy. I asked her if I could close the door and she said, "No!" "If I leave the door open, my room is in the perfect position for people to make a wrong turn. But, I don't think it is a wrong turn, I think it is a right turn because maybe, just maybe, I can tell them about Jesus."
So, what would you do if you knew that your last days were around the corner? I ask myself that question, a lot. My mom knew and she choose to keep doing good, to use any means possible to bring others along. She didn't give up. She continued to fulfill her God-given, eternal purpose.
Photo Credit: http://rustyfoxfarm.com/2017/01/23/galatians-69/
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