I read a quote recently.. and wrote it down.
“Courage is… almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong desire to live taking the form of readiness to die.”
Tonight I went with my sister in law, to sign her mom up for hospice services.
It was hard for her since it is her mom and she is the only daughter.
I am familiar with the hospice procedures and I was asked to be with her, hopefully it was helpful for me to be there.
The two hours it took to sign her up wasn’t as horrible as I thought.
Mostly signing papers and forms as the nurse explained the hospice process.
They become mom’s doctor.
They take care of her.
They are her voice.
The goal is to keep her comfortable.
They come weekly and later daily as she becomes worse.
She says she has no pain. That is good for now.
She said that many years ago after having a radical mastectomy surgery.
She said,”God protected me and I have no pain.”
Is that possible? With her, YES.
She is Mom O. She is the legacy of mom’s to all her children and grand children.
She is a prayer warrior.
Every day at 9 am she has her coffee, Bible, notepad and prayer list.
Dad O has to go down for coffee with the ‘old guys’.
She must be alone.
She will be deeply missed. Dad O is not doing well.
He is 87 and losing his first love.
July will be their 61st wedding anniversary.
It is a love story in the fullest form.
They met and three weeks later were married many years ago.
Six children and 60 years later they are still a family.
The oldest son passed on years ago.
Their heart broke in many pieces when he died.
Yet she had hope and continued to show hope
to others through the process of letting go.
She might not be here for the first great grand child in September.
One would wish she would be here, but logic says she will be home with the Lord.
This is a story of a mom who loved.
Who loved unconditionally.
Who loved always.
Who never judged.
I am writing this with tears as they fall down my cheeks…… for a family who loved.
Who continues to love each other deeply. They are parents deeply committed to their family.
He is a father who was close to his children, she is a mother who prayed intensely for all 6 of their children daily.
Her heart broke when her son died, yet she knew of a hope beyond what we can see……..
we dare to see and hope for… she knew it to be true.
God in his mercy… will give her rest.
God in his mercy ….will give her peace.
She knows the God of mercy and deeply loves Him.
I am writing this as the tears fall down my cheeks.
I remember…she loved with a love like Jesus.
She is the grandma who never chastised the sinner, who had a child out of marriage, she just smiled and said,”They all come in their own time.”
She is the grandma who loved…unconditionally the child who… made bad decisions…reminding them … “Next time you will think about it more.”
She is the mom who loved.
After everything else is said…: “She loved and she had compassion”.
More than anything else she is a …….A legacy to us all.
