I’ve wanted to post on my blog for over a week,  but important things were happening that needed my attention.  Sunday, I lost my mother – she had been very sick – with things rapidly deteriorating over the last couple of weeks.  Mom was 90. Yesterday we had her funeral – returning her body to the ground from which the word of God says that God formed and created man – finishing the master piece of His creation by blowing “the breath of life” into man.

My two sisters were with Mom when she took her last short breaths – for her, they told me,  there was no struggle – it was very peaceful.  There was some sadness of course as I heard that she had passed (from this life into the next)- but I am okay.  Actually  I am “more than okay”-  because I know and am very confident about where she is.

The last 3 days before Sunday, she was becoming unresponsive to the point of  being almost in a coma-like state.  A day or two before that, we had tried to engage her in humorous or otherwise memorable things that we had all experienced together as we were growing up – and got only small interest roused in her about those things – but accolades should go to my  two sisters for trying.  Just knowing some of her children were there with her must have meant something to her.  All of us very much wanted to do something that would make things easier for her – we knew she couldn’t be here with us very much longer and we did not want her to suffer …..

Then on Saturday afternoon while I was at home in the kitchen,  I began singing “How Beautiful Heaven Must Be” – an old song that I hadn’t heard in years (note here that I am NOT a singer) – but it was coming out of my spirit; and when I stopped singing for a minute or two, I caught myself humming the song.  All of this was happening while my mind was still pretty distraught – wondering what we could do to help Mama turn her mind away from all the pain we knew was filling her body – and look Heavenward.

The song just kept coming – until the realization came that although it was beginning to help my mind a little – “this song is for Mama!”  The Lord had spoken a scripture to me for her a day or so before – and with the added song, that realization stirred me to action.  I called my mother’s room – a sister answered the phone …. I told her that I knew Mama couldn’t answer me, but I wanted to give her a scripture verse and sing a song to her. Then as the phone was held up to Mama’s ear, I began singing the song, and talking to her about  Heaven and Jesus.  When my sister took the phone away from Mom’s ear, she said to me … “She heard you …. Her lips began to move as though she wanted to speak and her eyebrows moved as you were talking …. and her face, which had carried the look of death – my sister said – looked “happy.”  My sister was almost weeping as she told me those things and later my other sister who was at the end of Mama’s bed told me she saw the same thing.  That was all I needed to hear.  I had done what the Lord had shown me to do – and I was filled with peace!   A peace that has not left me since it filled my heart and mind that evening.

I got “the call” just about 24 hours later – my sweet mother had just passed – “about ten minutes ago” – my sister told me.  I had dreaded to face this day we all knew was coming…. but it hasn’t been that way for me.  If you think really knowing Jesus – and knowing how to “hear Him,”  doesn’t make a difference -think again!!