The Promise of Easter

A few weeks ago I attended the Memorial Service of a little girl who was 2 1/2 years old.  She had been born with  genetic disorder.  She received 24-7, minute my minute care by her mom and dad and other family and friends who came along side to help.  This Memorial Service was so moving…I will never forget it.
     It was a service of celebration, of thanksgiving and gratitude.  Her parents were so grateful to God for giving this beautiful little girl to them to care for…so thankful that she was in their lives…they celebrated every day with her.  They called her the bravest person they knew.  They called God their best friend.
     My mother went through the loss of her first child, a son named John,  her situation was so different but so much the same.
     When my brother was born, in the early 40’s, medical advances where not in place to help children born with great disabilities.  As I remember the story…mom had to have a c-section as John’s head was too large to move through the birth canal…you see he had hydrocephalus.  When he was born the two Grandmothers got together and made arrangements to move him to an institution where he would be cared for.  My mother never saw her son.  I do not remember if the Grandmothers told her right away about what happened or if they told her he had died…I believe it was the latter.  When John was 6 months old he did die of pneumonia.  My mother never saw her baby.
    This little girl had 2-1/2 years to be loved and cared for by her parents and now she is with Jesus in heaven.
      Mom spoke of John and her hopes of being reunited in heaven with him.  In fact 2 weeks before mom died she was very excited about finally going to heave to see her son.  She knew that my dad and John would be there waiting for her.
     What does this have to do with Easter?  Well another mom had to watch while her son, Jesus, was killed on a cross.  She had 3 terrible days of trying to understand why this had happened to her boy.  I imagine she went over and over in her mind the promises she had been given by the angel of God before she began her journey of bearing the Son of God in her womb and being Jesus’ mother.  The angel had said that her son would save the world from their sins…how could that happen when he was now dead.
     But God’s plan was that Jesus would live forever and raised Jesus from the dead…that whosoever believed in Him would have everlasting life.  Imagine the joy when Mary saw her son again and realized that she would never be separated from him again. 
      This is the hope my mother had that she would be with John forever.  That he would be giving her the tour of heaven.  This is the same hope that the little girls parents have…she is in heaven with Jesus totally made perfect  and without pain.
    I will be so bold to say that they are so sure of the promises of God that the hope is actually truth.
     On this Easter I declare a blessing over you that you will know the truth of God’s love and the power of a personal relationship with God through believing in His Son, the Risen Christ.
   With Much Love
   Susan, Muriel’s daughter and a daughter of the Most High King…Almighty God  

 

 

I Know by Muriel

My dad’s not dead, he just took a rest-
Among the things he loved the best.
He was so tired, he tried so hard
He’s sleeping now its his reward.

Oft, when I was a little thing-
He’d take me up and talk and sing
About the things that we would do,
When I grew up, just we two.

I’m grown up now, but he couldn’t wait,
He was so tired, I guess its fate
That made him need to rest before
I grew up and could help him more.

He’s sleeping now and it is spring;
The birds around him fly and sing.
The flowers and the shrub are all in bloom,
The blue sky’s cloudless as in June.

But I must be good so he won’t wake,
And do the things that glad will make,
My dad and keep him sleeping sound
With all the things he loves around.

My Mother lost her dad to cancer when she was 5.
I thank God for my parents and that I had them with me for so many years.
There were ups and downs in our relationships but we never doubted our love for one another and always spoke of our love towards one another.
May God shed His blessings on our families, restore the bonds of love, reconcile our differences so we can truly love each other all the days of our lives.

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I’ve failed I know
With my new beau
Buy how I cannot say
I guess I acted stupid
But I’d had and awful day
I didn’t impress him
Not one bit
So now I sit and sit and sit…

Muriel

 

I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!

As my mom got older she had more and more health problems.  She was not very mobile unless she was in her “scooter”.  I remember her telling me how the older she got the more off-handed her care was from the medical professionals, doctors and nurses were very dismissive. This was always very frustrating for her. 

I must say however, that she loved the Paramedics who came frequently to help her out of a bad situation.  She always commented to me that ALL the Paramedics were very handsome and kind.  She prayed for them daily.

Back to my story…at one point mom found herself in a local hospital being treated for an intestinal blockage.  Remember she could not walk unaided at this time.  So…here she was in bed…needing the bed pan.  She rang the nurses station and continued to ring the nurses station for over an hour.  No help came.  She was unable to control herself any longer and soiled herself, the bed and it seemed to her, everything in the room.  She rang the nurses station again and still no one came to help her.  In her frustration she picked up the phone by her bed and dialed 911.  She explained to the dispatcher where she was and what was happening.  Surprize!!!!  In seconds she had every nurse on the floor in her room.

To her dismay, this time, no handsome and kind Paramedics came to her rescue.  She’d see them another day.

It is sad to think that we as human beings have that little compassion for our elderly.  I thank God that I had two wonderful parents that taught me to value all life, (except for maybe spiders, mosquitoes, bed bugs and scorpions).

In Honor of The Westminster Dog Show

Mom and her family lived on a sort of farm.  They had cows, goats, cats and dogs.  Grandma took in sick animals and nursed them back to health.  Mom (Muriel) had several favorite dog stories. 

I do not remember the name of this particular dog, but he was totally well behaved…in the house.  Grandma did not take any disobediance   from her dogs. Mom explained that she was an old-time dog whisperer.  This dog did not like cats. Grandma had many cats, one who was a favorite.  This cat enjoyed the cozy comfort of the house along with the dog.  The cat took full advantage of her place as protected species in the house.  This cat would not only tease the poor dog but she would actually settle down for the night on top of or next to the dog.  Grandma was no dummy…even thought she had total control in the house…outside was a different story.  Each morning she let the cat out first…giving her a full 10 minute head start before releasing the dog, whose only purpose at this point was to get  that cat!  He never did!

A Smile

A smile is a burst of sunshine
That spreads just all around
In every nook and corner
To drive away the frowns.

It lights the world with laughter
An makes it seem to glow
With a kind of cheerful spirit
That seeds of friendship sow.

Muriel

I hope that all of your days are filled with smiles.  A smile is an instant blessing.

The Man in the Pin Stripe Suit

Mom and her brother David were the youngest of seven children.  The older five children were several years older, then came David and Muriel.  Their dad,Clarence,died from cancer when David was 7 and Muriel was 5.

They were always best friends; many times getting into trouble together.

As they grew older David became very protective over Muriel, not that she couldn’t hold her own.

When dad(Earl) came to pick mom up for a date David was very concerned. It was in the late 1930’s and dad had borrowed his dad’s (Grandpa Frank’s)car, a black sedan with running boards shiny beyond on compare.  Dad was very dressed up in a black pin stripe suit.  All David could see was “Mafia”.  So after Earl and Muriel left on their date…David followed them.  He followed them for two solid weeks until my mom caught on.  It took several months before David felt comfortable with my dad.

No worries…they became close friends and my mom and dad cared tenderly for Uncle David during his struggle with stomach cancer.

It’s a wonderful blessing when you family members are also your closest friends.

 

Her Irish is showing

Mom was a blend of Irish, Scottish and French.  She was pretty confident when she was younger…she was also VERY PRETTY.  As she told it: the first date she had with my dad, Earl, he was LATE.  She let him know that he should never be late again.  Her plan was to have one of her many other admirers waiting at the back door.  The next date “Earl” was on time..and she was good to her word…another guy was at the back door.  Dad was never ever late again.

Daddy was devoted to her.  I don’t think my mom ever had to carry a bag of groceries, clean off the snow on her car, or clean a bathroom.  As she got older with several physical limitations he even carried her purse!  Totally a great guy! Not perfect but pretty closes.

May our marriages be blessed with a love like that.
Great Memories

Polka Dots

Such gruesome things these polka dots,
All they are, are great big spots,
Spattered helter skelter everywhere
To do their worst, they just don’t care.

Great big red ones, little blue ones,
Green ones, gray ones, old ones and new ones.
Large and small splashed over all available
Space till I could bawl.

I hate to think of polka dots,
Sprinkled all over in lavishing lots.
Everyone wears them, young and old,
Millions of dots every year are sold.

They are worn by people fat or thin,
With false teeth or double chins,
To them it doesn’t matter,they think its nice.
But I never could polka dots suffice.

I think they’re awful, terrible spots
These great big red and yellow dots,
They make me sad, they make me cry,
But it does not good so I cease to try.

Muriel

My mom never ever changed her mind on polka dots…
but I love them.
May everyone who loves polka dots be blessed with joy today.

Here We Go…

Muriel was my mother.  Many of the things I will post began with her.  She loved Jesus, her husband, her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.  She was the youngest of seven children, born in 1920.  Her family was a large one with many Aunts, Uncles and cousins.  Her favorite cousin just passed away at 88 years old.

Mom has been in heaven for several years but, has never seemed closer to me.

In her later years mom was not able to get around easily. She used one of the famous electric scooter chairs, which she constantly ran into door frames leaving big black smudges. She was so frustrated with her driving skills.

She had many alone and quiet hours. Muriel, also known as May, Mom and Grandma,  loved to watch golf and basketball as well as the news. Her telephone was her life line to friends and family.This same telephone brought much saddness as she heard the news of those close to her dying.

Mom had a gift.  God would bring people, circumstances and events to her mind and mom would declare a blessing, bringing God’s blessing of light into darkness.  I hope in the stories and poems I post you will also be blessed.

Here We Go…