Sunday, August 19, 2012

Joyous Path of Life

Joy fills us internally while happiness is fleeting and usually based on external circumstances. As many of you know from following my blog, my mother has been terminally ill for the past four months. She created some of the best memories as we laughed together and dealt with the sad reality of  end-of-life issues.. My mother had grown up during the great depression, married young, worked a farm as entrepreneurs of the dairy business with daddy and raised two children to work more than play. Here at the end of her life she freely expressed her joy and hope in Jesus Christ she knew. One day while mamma, daddy and I sat at the dining room table watching doves feeding outside, she took my hand, looked over at daddy and said, " You know I always loved your daddy".
Hospice called me to come home as mamma had taken a change for the worse. When I entered her room and told her who I was, she reached up with both arms and held me close in a hug. That was her final hug to me as she went into glory later that night with me at her side.
Later in the week, I glanced at the date of her burial on the calendar. It said "New Moon".

 "You have made known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand." Psalm 16: 11NAS Study Bible



Thursday, August 9, 2012

He Anchors My Soul



Lightening streaked closer and closer and the thunder kept getting louder. Even though it was not raining yet, it was evident by the black clouds that a storm was brewing. My daddy’s dog Jack, also known as Baby, is very frightened by bad weather. Daddy opened the back door and let Jack into the utility room.  When I arrived to drop off groceries, no one could find Jack. We called as we searched throughout the house. Daddy found Jack in the old fireplace behind the artificial logs. He was happy and unafraid and refused to come out until the storm was over.
It seems that life’s circumstances can bring joy or grief, happiness or despair. It is so great to know that for those who love the Lord Jesus Christ there is safety from all harm. The challenge is to simply believe that God’s assurance of His everlasting love is true. If we want to live a life without fear, we must trust and obey God completely. v. 19 “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.” Hebrews 6:19 NAS Study Bible
 Psalm 112 v.7 “He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord.  v. 8 His heart is secure, he will have no fear; in the end he will look with triumph on his foes.”



Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Following her Whim!


It is so important to seize the moment when your mother is on Hospice. She told me how nice it would be to go for a ride to where she used to work. The outdoor temperature was in the high 90's and the air was humid with threats of rain. My husband helped me load her oxygen,portable nebulizer & medications in the SUV. She and I sat in the back seat so I could observe her breathing and condition. Daddy talked about his memories of many rides to work on the old Hwy 10 to Jackson, La.. They both laughed about when in the 1940's , Hwy 10 was gravel and rains would flood the road. When we drove by the tall brick structure covered now with ivy and vines, mamma pointed to a screen door and told me that used to be the entrance to her apartment when she first went to work at CC1. She showed me where the bench had sat where daddy first held her hand. We had a "picnic" in the car since mamma was too weak to get out in the weather or go inside a restaurant.
I can now look back and know how happy it made her for us to follow her whim to go down memory lane.
v. 14 " When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider: God has made the one as well as the other. Therefore, a man cannot discover anything about his future." Ecclesiastes 7 :14 NAS Life Application Study Bible