Monday, May 18, 2015

I WILL REJOICE!




It's Monday May 18, 2015, and two years ago this very day my sweet mom entered into the gates of heaven having ended her 80 year long journey here on this earth.  In many ways I can't believe it's already been two years, and yet in many others I can't believe it's only been two years.  Soo many things have happened since she's been gone.  It's funny, the older and older I have become the more and more you begin to think of your own mortality and the fact that there isn't a one of us who will escape our earthly deaths. One way or another, on one day or another we too will leave this place, and begin our eternities.  The question of course has to be, are we really ready for that?  And I guess the answer has to be...we'd better be.  Because the Bible assures us, tomorrow is promised to no man.

James 4:14  whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow.  For what is your life?  It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away,

I've missed my mom in a hundred little ways....some expected, and some very unexpected.  I feel I've gone through the process of grief at times reluctantly, and at other times moving as quickly as I dared in order to reach that place where the pain wasn't so fresh, and didn't overwhelm me so badly.  So far all I've learned is that at times I seem to be in such a good place with it all that I can smile and reminisce and linger so on all the funny, loving things she said and did, that it brings a literal joy to my heart.  And yet at other times, the sorrow is deep, overwhelming and painful and just the sight of certain pictures of her can bring me to tears and depression.  I guess this is just the way it is.  I KNOW in my heart she is in a better place.  I KNOW in my heart that I wouldn't wish her back here to suffer all the this life and world has to give....not for one minute.  I  KNOW in my heart I WILL see her again...I WILL talk and spend time with her again, and as a Christian my hope is firmly in what lies ahead.

Heb. 6:19a  This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast....


She lived a full and healthy life for the majority of her 80 years.  She raised six children all of whom who loved her to pieces and was blessed with numerous grandchildren and great grandchildren, to carry on the legacy she left behind.  She had a husband who loved and cherished her, and much, much more.  She was soo very blessed.  So today as we mark the two year anniversary of her passing, I will chose to remember those good times, and to focus on the fact that our salvation through Jesus Christ assures us that we will meet again.  So while this is a sad day for all of us, it is a happy date for her!  It was just the beginning of her days in heaven with Him, free of the burdens of this world.  I will rejoice for her!

My sisters and I will are meeting today at one of mom's favorite lunch spots, Mimi's.  She would have NO DOUBT ordered the french onion soup (she never could resist it!) and joined in on our conversations with enthusiasm.  We will smile and remember her, and tell stories that only sibblings can understand, and probably no doubt shed a tear or two, but KNOW in our hearts that her joy is now complete in Him.




6 comments:

  1. Debbie, this is such a precious, precious post. Your words go straight to the heart. I am blessed to have both of my parents still living, but I know those "million little ways" through the loss of my father-in-law and my dear aunt. As you have expressed, sometimes the pain is searing, and sometimes the memories are sweet comfort. Of course, you have gotten to the nitty gritty when you say that what really matters is if we have chosen our eternal destination...by His grace!

    I pray that you and your sisters experience that sweetness of remembrance today. Hugs...

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  2. I sure relate to these words Debbie, and it's been 12 years since my mom went to heaven. It does get better, but it is never really gone. Our world is altered when we lose them, in ways we only learn as we move ahead without them. I hope your lunch it Mimi's is an encouragement to each of you. If my mom were there, she would be getting loaded potato skins! :)

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  3. I love that you gather together and share and laugh and shed a tear. I am very in tune with this post. It sounds like my own reality. Just read this quote today and like it so well that I recorded it in my journal:

    "If you're worried about feeling out of place in heaven, don't. Heaven will seem more like home than the dearest spot on earth to you." John MacArthur

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  4. Your mother would have been so touched by this sweet post! What a lovely, caring, and fun lady she must have been. I understand the emotions you shared, because that is the journey I went on with my dear dad. You shared it all in such a special way, and helped us all look forward to heaven in a new way. Thank you Debbie!

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  5. Thinking of you today.
    Hugs
    Kris

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  6. Oh Debbie, it does get easier but there will always be that emptiness where your mother is concerned. But, isn't it a treasure that you and your sisters are so close and that you can share all those precious memories of your sweet mother together? I will be spending the day and night with one of my sisters and I look forward to our time together. Thank you for sharing this tender and beautifully expressed tribute to your mom. Thankfully, we can know that we will see them again.

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I am so glad that you would take the time to comment on my thoughts and feelings, it is such a blessing to me!