Just read it.
.... I'm still in a daze.
I have just been blessed in countless remarkable ways and find myself quite unable to comment further.
*********
My mom has just entered eternity.
Looking back, it seemed that she rallied to survive Christmas Day where she was given
the strength & grace to briefly meet with & visit one last time
with each one of her children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
That night, (December 25th) we took her by ambulance to the hospital where she finally accepted the idea of taking some relief from the pain by way of morphine. She got two doses several hours apart and then, when the Ontario Patient Transfer Mobile didn't materialize at 7am as promised,
(she SO desperately wanted her own comfy bed/recliner) she threw back the thin sheet off the gurney
in that emergency cubicle,
ordered us to get her into a wheelchair and
bust her out of the hospital ourselves.
My bro Mark and I had stayed by her bedside overnight.
He cast me a glance that read10% skepticism and 90% worry.
Can we legally DO such a thing he seemed to be asking?
It didn't matter.
Mom was already trying to slip off the gurney solo to put her boots on.
Apparently, there would be no discussion. :)
Most of me was cheering her on. Yay Mom! You go girl!
Who's got time for pomp and ceremony when time is so short?
Mark went to warm up his truck; he pulled up curbside and together we helped our beautiful PJ clad momma into the backseat with as much dignity as we could manage.
She died five days later.
Remarkably, though she was physically able to make heavily assisted moves from bed to recliner,
she seldom spoke or communicated with us after that day.
Her eyes were often open but focused to something beyond us.
Approximately five hours before death - her friend Jane (from her Cancer support group) visited to offer those final gestures of good & godly love: hugs, prayer, foot massages....
The room was very quiet;
just a few of us were present when Jane looked up at Mom and asked her what she was smiling about. Her one word answer?
"Paradise"
"Paradise" was Mom's final and pretty much solitary
word that week.
My Mom was getting a sneak peek if you will.
**********
My beloved and I have recently developed the habit of enjoying morning devo's online, listening to the radio ministry of Charles Morris of Haven Today.
A ton of edifying resource material is recommended here and that is where
we first learned about this book.
It's the best $15.00 bucks I've ever spent.
I will quite frankly,
never be the same.
.... I dare to wager the same will be true for you.
Tina Dekker likes this.
ReplyDeleteJill Jelsma
I've been directed by a good friend to Haven Today as well. Not sure what to comment on the boy's story of Heaven either but it is interesting. Nice 2 part series on Sacred Marriage for Valentines as well, book by Gary Thomas.
February 16 at 10:57am