A Legacy...

January has flown by. It was quiet compared to the busy and exciting December. Time spent with seed catalogues in front of the wood stove while the tempertures stayed frosty and cold. It was time spent at the Hampton with our mother and father. Caring for them and realizing the time was drawing nearer to our final good byes here on earth. I received the call on Saturday January 31 from the hospice nurse that She would probably go in the next 24 hours. It was time. As Paul said she had fought the good fight. But in between the lines it is hard to let her go. God made this a little easier for us as we watched this horrid disease take her from us over the years. The Thursday before I went down with ice cream for all of us. She in her bed, Daddy and I sat in her room eating. I fed her and I know that she knew me and was enjoying every single bite. She loved ice cream. We could see that she was in terrible pain but every bite was enjoyed. Daddy,Gregg and I along with my sisiter and Michal were with her Saturday as she passed in her sleep at rest and peacefull. No longer in pain and I believe anxious to be on the rest of her journey. I think she may have been tired of us hanging out and wanted to put an end to our foolishness. She loved us so.


She left us a legacy.


No, not great material things, She left us an example. There is an old hymn called "We are the world's best Bible". She lived it. We see it in her children, my children and her friends. Almost everyone she met. I don't think that she knew a stranger and if she did she made them a friend. She was a teacher and continued to teach long after she left the workforce which was most of my life. We all knew how to read before we went to school. She taught us to play and to have fun. How to laugh and enjoy the gifts God gave us. She loved children and had the patience of Job. We see her in our children. Jeremy has her fighting spirit, Aaron has her steadfastness, Ben her humor and her eyes and Michal her giving heart. All of them willing to help as needed or asked. She lives on in the special gifts she gave each of us. Many saw her example of service to them and to God. I think of Dorcas and the town people showing the coats she had made for them. I remember Mama visiting the sick and those in different kinds of need, making meals and blankets and dolls for the children. I remember she taught us to always be ready to welcome the stranger into our homes. On the Lord's Day, usually pot roast and potatos and gravy were prepared and the house gleeming in anticipation of visitors at services. She taught us to work and to give. She raised us to be gratful for what we had and to share that with anyone along the way. She greeted the strangers and made friends of the grocery clerks, they looked forward to seeing her. Beans and cornbread were good enough to share if someone stopped by. She loved the Lord and his people with all her heart and only wanted to make the path to God easier for them. She was a friend to my husband and taught me to honor him. We will always be thankful for her loving example of a wife, a mother and a friend. We will miss you mama but we are thankful your journey here is over. No more pain , no more pain.


The days ahead will be difficult at first and ease over time. Sad memories will be replaced with joy and gladness. Our hearts swell knowing that she has gone home and is free of pain and is rejoicing with the saints. We look forward to seeing her again someday.