October 1–What a Legacy!

It’s Tuesday. Last evening, my mama crossed over to be with Jesus. Both her girls and a granddaughter had their hands on her when she left her broken and battered tent of a body behind. Praise God, she has a new brain. 

“Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭116:15‬ ‭ESV‬‬ 

And it was precious in her family’s sight as well. 


Alzheimer’s is an awful disease. I hated it stealing the last ten years of my mother’s life and I couldn’t understand why God would leave someone here just to not have their thinking ability. We know God is not a God of random acts but what could possibly be the purpose in that? However...


About 20 minutes before my mama passed, one of her caregivers had come in to check her. (Mom spent the last year in a memory care facility.) She just sat in the chair and held her hand and spoke so softly to her. She looked up and said “Your mom changed my life.” Then, she went on to explain how mom would sense when her day was bad and take her by the hand to the couch to sit. Mom would pat her hand and smile at her until she calmed down and then Mom would let her go. She said “I have no idea how she knew when things were getting to me, but she just knew. She was a remarkable woman and I am blessed to have known her.”  


Mom affected people long after her memory or cognitive ability had gone. Through years of her walk, she had forged her character so deeply into her being that it was going to come through even in her weakest times. 

“For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭12:10‬ ‭ESV‬‬


How humbling is it to know that when Christ lives in us, He will use us and continue to shine through us even in our most vulnerable of moments. In fact, the less of us there is, the more Christ can shine through. 


Over the last several days, many of her caregivers have tried to explain to us how much they loved her and that she was just “an angel on earth.” I need to explain to them, “No, she wasn’t an angel, but she was a princess-the full daughter of the King and she had turned her live over to Him many years ago to be used by Him.”


“Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."”

‭‭John‬ ‭8:12‬ ‭ESV‬‬


Thank you Jesus for the close-up witness of a life well spent. Amen and amen. 


Love you dear one,

Pam

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