A Tribute to Mom

Defining moments! They mark us. They shape us. They mold us.  February 27, 1996 will linger long in my mind and heart. It was the day our family said farewell, this side of heaven, to my mom. She was beloved! She was not a perfect mother, but she raised me well. Her ways of expressing love were manifested mostly through her deep and abiding devotion to faith and family. I did not need to hear the I love you statement every other minute. I knew I was loved and secure by her care for me.

Grief and loss is an odd thing. It comes in waves when least expected. Yes, even after sixteen years I feel its presence. There are days I wish I could pick up the phone and chat with her. Our conversations were always full of, "How are you doing?" " What are you doing?" " What do you want for dinner when you come?" "Don't wear yourself out!" We always knew our visits to Grandma and Grandpa's house would be filled with all of our favorite foods cooked to perfection, coffee klatches with Mom's friends, updates on the latest needlework projects, current happenings in Dad's workshop, garage projects and yes, the garden. Oh, how I miss her.

There is a strange mingling to joy and sorrow. Sorrow because there is loss. The memories ended way too soon. Joy comforts those losses and misses in the knowing that for eternity my mom is seeing Jesus face to face and knows the glorious riches of heaven filled with worship and  joy eternal!! Dear Reader, even though there is sorrow for the moment remember, "THE BEST IS YET TO COME!"

Make the Most Of The Moment

 Living in the suburbs of a large city provides the chance to spend a lot of time in your car. Waiting in traffic has a way of becoming  a frustration if one does not view it as a time of opportunity. In recent years, I have been developing and practicing my listening skills through carefully selected audiobooks and music CD's while driving. These times have become precious to me as I have listened through books of the Bible, books written about the Bible, or God-ward oriented music. I find myself treasuring these moments as times of intimate fellowship with God.

Lately, as I have been driving hither and yon an old hymn by Franny Crosby, "O Heart Bereaved and Lonely," has caught my listening ear as I absorb the writing from the pen of a woman who spent her entire life in the darkness of being blind. She wrote over 8000 hymns in her lifetime.  She understood suffering and the sweet and bitter providence it is in the life of the believer in Christ. As to her blindness she said:

"It seemed intended by the blessed providence of God that I should be blind all my life, and I thank him for the dispensation. If perfect earthly sight were offered me tomorrow I would not accept it. I might not have sung hymns to the praise of God if I had been distracted by the beautiful and interesting things about me."

If I had a choice, I would still choose to remain blind...for when I die, the first face I will ever see will be the face of my blessed Saviour."
quoted from http://www.eaec.org/faithhallfame/fanny_crosby.htm

Fanny Crosby, though blind, was able to see the beauty and the blessedness that is found in affliction. There is much for us to learn from the life of this precious woman of God. When I listen to the words of "O Heart Bereaved..." I find much comfort and solace. As tears tumble down my cheeks I sing in praise of the love, mercy, grace and goodness of our great Savior. Dear reader whose heart is bereaved and lonely this day, "Look up amid thy sorrow," "Look up and be not discouraged," "Look up the clouds are breaking," and remember "YOUR SAVIOR KNOWS IT ALL."

O Heart Bereaved and Lonely

O heart bereaved and lonely,

Whose brightest dreams have fled

Whose hopes like summer roses,

Are withered crushed and dead

Though link by link be broken,

And tears unseen may fall

Look up amid thy sorrow,

To Him who knows it all

O cling to thy Redeemer,

Thy Savior, Brother, Friend

Believe and trust His promise,

To keep you till the end

O watch and wait with patience,

And question all you will

His arms of love and mercy,

Are round about thee still

Look up, the clouds are breaking,

The storm will soon be o'er

And thou shall reach the haven,

Where sorrows are no more

Look up, be not discouraged;

Trust on, whate'er befall

Remember, O remember,

Thy Savior knows it all

Fanny Crosby

What Cleaning Out Old Files Can Do To You!

Who would have thought  buying a Scansnap SN1100 could create such revolution? We are going paperless. What does that mean? Drawers of paper, files, and photos have all gone up to the"Cloud" with our nifty little Scansnap. The paper shredder needs frequent oiling, and we will have enough packing material to last us a lifetime. I have come to love the Spartan look of empty drawers.

As I was going through files to scan or toss, it was like taking a walk down memory lane. I came across some old entries from a long since deleted blog I started in 2005 and thought it would be fun to share some of "My Musing," from a Proverbs 31 Mom. This excerpt was from a September 2005 entry entitled, "Reflections on a Sunday Afternoon."

I have been listening to my favorite Bill Staines music, and as I listen to "An Afternoon At Cohan's" I am reminded  of sweet memories from childhood. Who would have thought that getting up early in the morning, walking to the garden with my family, bushel baskets in hand, to glean from our garden's rich bounty of vegetables that my dad faithfully and carefully tended, would hold so much weight in my memory? Each week there was something new to be picked and preserved. My summer memory of Dad was his hoe in hand and for Mom standing at the stove canning anything and everything edible. They provided well in their simplicity!

I remember bushel baskets full of peas, and the early evenings sitting under the shade of the maple tree with Mom's metal mixing bowl between my legs shelling peas endlessly. It was a neighborly event that seemed to take place most often in our yard or the next door neighbor's. When the kids got tired of shelling, we would run off to play whistle or holler, kick the can, hide and go seek, or who can catch the most lightning bugs while the adults finished the job.

Those days are gone, but they linger long, now, in my memory,  and at times are comforting thoughts when the burdens of the day weigh down. I am thankful for those gentle and loving memories. Not all people have them or see that they do. It challenges me to ask myself what kind of family memories am I leaving with my children. In a day when the whole concept of family has been so distorted by the world we live in, it is a good question to be asking, "What impressions am I leaving on my children, and how will it impact them?"

For Byron and me, our greatest desire has been to help our children understand the love of God expressed through Jesus Christ. To know Him is our greatest gain, and to faithfully live that out is the greatest legacy we can leave them. We do believe the statement, "What we do, they will do in excess," to be a true statement. We have asked ourselves over the years, " What do we want them to do in excess? " Answer: To know and love God and to faithfully serve Him from a heart that is anchored in Christ. Jesus said, " The thief comes only to steal and destroy, I came that they may have life and have it abundantly." John 10:10 (ESV). Just as our garden's harvest provided abundantly for my family when I was a child, so the Word of God, in the context of a relationship with Christ, provides spiritual sustenance abundantly to our souls.

Nearly seven years have passed since I wrote this piece. My hopes and desires have not changed. I have had time and opportunity to see how God has worked in each of my children's lives. God has been faithful to us. He has grown us in so many unexpected ways. Times have not always been easy, but we do see His gentle hand guiding us and His Word sustaining us as we journey through the joys and sorrows of this life. Stay tuned for more musings from a Proverbs 31 mom.