In Honor

On February 1, my mom flew into the arms of Jesus. She had battled cancer for about two years, and after three hospital stays in January, she made the choice to go into hospice care on January 27. We were blessed with four precious days in which we shared memories and laughter and lots of tears.

Today we celebrated her life well lived and her reward of eternal life. This is what I shared in honor of my precious mom.

As we were sitting around my mom’s bed on Tuesday morning, I got to thinking about how special my mom was and in how many ways. Here’s what I told her:

“So mom, I’ve been sitting here with all of us and thinking about how incredibly special you are; so special that there is no one else like you and that in order for your legacy to continue you needed five children. You have given each of the five of us something special of yourself. Here is what I see.

I’ll start with Linda since she’s the youngest and I usually start with myself. Linda is like you in the way that she is able to just roll along with the tides of life. Like you, she goes where she needs to go and does what needs to be done. You became a pastor’s wife and made a home wherever God led you and dad. And it was a happy and warm and safe home. Linda and Juan lived in the city, because that’s what needed to be done. She doesn’t complain or draw attention; she just quietly goes about doing what is needed. That’s you mom.

John is strong and steady. He works in the medical field like you where that kind of steady strength is necessary. But you and he are both strong and steady in the course of life. There’s not a lot of emotional drama or second guessing. Although dad was always the up-front pastor, you were serving along beside him. You were strong and steady in the course that God laid out for you. John is like you as he lives his life in all areas as a steadfast and dependable source of strength.

Karen got your amazing creativity; she is able to make something out of nothing – just like you. You made beautiful quilts out of scraps of fabric and lovely blankets from bits of yarn. You made our clothes and doll’s clothes and Barbie doll clothes with those tiny little buttons.  In the past several years you have learned to crochet and knit and you’ve used those skills to make blankets from odds and ends of yarn to share with the people in nursing care. Karen’s hand-made cards and scrapbooks are works of art. She is so creative, just like you.

Donna is fair and just. All week she has been making sure that everyone has coffee. When we were kids she made sure we all got a candy bar out of the pack. She likes to make sure that everyone is okay and taken care of. That’s you mom. You are always looking out for others, making sure that everyone is treated fairly. The reason we could engage in our silly, ongoing banter about who was your favorite child was because we all knew that we were each your favorite.

And me, I got your love for children. I just love kids. Just like you. You were a foster mom and now so am I. I never really wanted to be anything except a mom and I expect that’s because you made it look so wonderful. And you have taught so many children about the love of Jesus by living the love of Jesus. Each child knew that you valued them.”

Karen reminded me that there was one gift that you gave to each of us – the desire to serve. We watched you, mom. We saw you serve our family and love us, we saw you serve the church family, we saw you serve in your job as a nurse, we saw you love on the kids in your day care. We knew how much you loved dad. And so we each serve our own families, and churches. Some of us serve in our occupations. We serve our in communities and in missions. Just like you.

Thank you for these gifts, mom. We promise to use them wisely in honor of you.