Tag: blogging

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All Her Days

Mom, faithful reader of my blog, told me once, “You write too much about breast cancer!” I know she would tell me now, “You write too much about my death!”

That may be true, Mom, and you, dear bloggy friends, are on the receiving end of all my angst-ridden posts.

You have been so comforting and supportive as I travel through the grieving process. I hope you continue to bear with me.

My Grandma Emma died before many of her grandchildren were born, but I know for a fact that all of her grandchildren will know her immediately when we see her in heaven. We have heard so many stories about her from our fathers and mothers, our aunts and uncles, that when we, too, are taken to our heavenly home, we will instantly recognize our loving Grandma.

Yes, this sounds way too schmaltzy, but I believe it with all my heart.

And so, another story about Mom, so that Lily and Emmy will recognize their Grandma in heaven.

Mom sang this song to me as a little girl, and I sing it to Emmy every night before bedtime:

Two little eyes to look to God,
Two little ears to hear his Word,
Two little feet to walk His way,
Hands to serve Him all the day.

Mom spent all her days praising God. If I were to write a list of all the ways Mom praised God from day to day, it would be a long, long list.

Last Sunday, I walked up to communion at our church, and burst into tears. Up at the railing, I knelt upon the cushions that Mom designed and helped to needlepoint. They begin with Alpha, and end with Omega. I wish I had pictures to show you the beautiful Bible stories on these cushions.

Mom also designed and made banners to praise God. At her funeral, Dad hung up all the banners she made for their latest church.


Mom shows the fruits of the Spirit on this banner. (Galatians 5:22) The Spirit gave Mom all of these gifts, and I pray that some day, I will receive these gifts as well.

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Uplifted

I was really enjoying posting every day for NaBloPoMo at the beginning of November. My writing journal was filled with topic ideas, and I was going to write, write, WRITE every day. I was so excited about writing.

Then, the middle of the month hit. First, I got a phone call that Mom was in the hospital, then the call that the test results were in, and then, the phone call that we should come and see Mom. My sister had a bad feeling. The whole family gathered together in Iowa, in a cancer ward, in a private room with one very sick occupant.

And we were glad we did.

And I blogged through it all, through tears, pain and grief. I wasn’t sure I should be writing, but when I did write, it made me feel a little better. I usually wrote right before I went to bed, and that helped me fall to sleep at night. (I didn’t always stay asleep, but then it was a stressful time.)

And I was glad I kept on writing.

My sister and I were looking at my blog one night, right after Mom died.
She showed me the last post Mom read. It was the one about five birthday cakes. Mom was a faithful reader of my blog. She loved the posts about her grandchildren the most.

And I want to keep on writing about her grandchildren. And all the other things that I want to tell her.

I looked in my writing journal to see what I could fill this blog with next, and this was the first thing I saw: “Be more uplifting about your faith–write less about funerals.”

There’s a certain irony to that thought, written down less than a month ago.

Remember when I wrote about being shaken awake a little after 3:00 a.m. by my Dad? He was telling me that Mom was gone. This refrain from a new hymn, written for our church’s centennial celebration, popped into my head. To my knowledge, Mom had never heard it; out of all the hymns that Mom sang with us, this was one she had never sung before, and yet the refrain echoed in my head; bringing some comfort on that horrible morning:

We have found the one Messiah; come and see! Come and see!

Mom has truly found the one Messiah; He called her to come and see. She believed that hell must be separation from Jesus; now there is no more fear of separation, no more fear of pain. She is with Him now.

What comfort this sweet sentence gives; I know that my Redeemer lives.