Extra Special Moments
We all have an extra special moment engraved on our heart and mind forever. What is yours? Mine involved my mother, a brave 72-year-old who had single-handed raised four youngsters.
Mom and I both knew she was nearing the end of her fight against cancer. “My hope is not in chemotherapy or radiation—it is in the Lord. Whether I live or I die, I’m the Lord’s,” she told her oncologist.
She had submitted to those treatments with their horrible side effects, even losing all her hair. Then another hospital stay. But when the allotted time in this hospital was running out, the doctor said she could go home or to a rehab facility. She wanted to die in her home, and I wanted to honor her request. My husband and I had already moved into her house in Destin, Florida to help care for her for the past year.
I sought the advice of the hospital social services worker about taking her home. As she pushed a list of nurse’s aides who do homecare into my hand, her words to me were something I could never forget.
“I’m sure your mom will say or do something so special you will always remember and cherish the moment. In fact, you will be glad you took her home regardless of the hardship it may be to care for her and see her suffer.”
So, we hired two aides—one for night shift and another for the day to help me give her meds, turn her, change her, bathe her, and keep her comfortable. But there were several hours early in the morning between their shifts. My sister Ann flew in help too. Mom had slipped into a “semi-comatose state” –not speaking or opening her eyes. But on that early morning her blue eyes popped open after the aide left at five. Her eyes stared straight ahead. I waved my hand in front of her face. No response. I leaned over to kiss her and talk to her as though she could understand everything.
“Today is my fiftieth birthday, Mom. Remember how Dr. Doty came to Grandma Bailey’s old house to deliver me just as he had delivered you? I am going to say the Lord’s Prayer again for you like I do every morning. You just agree with me.” I prayed aloud, then repeated Psalm 23 as I always did before cranking her hospital bed higher to reposition her.
Flipping on a recording of her favorite choruses and hymns, I then left for the kitchen to get a cup of coffee. Soon I heard a noise and ran to Mom’s bedroom. The recording was playing “Open my eyes, Lord. I want to see Jesus.” But it was mom who had made the sound.
Ann and I watched as through clenched teeth Mom gave a weak shout, “Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!” Three times. That was all. A faint smile played across her face. Still, she showed no recognition of us. Had she heard me talking with her earlier? Had she seen a glimpse of heaven?
Then I remembered the hospital social worker telling me, “I’m sure your mom will say or do something so special you will always cherish it.” What a birthday gift to me.
She never uttered another word and a few days later, just after Easter, she died in her own bedroom. Ann and I prayed over her and prayed once again with her pastor who arrived fifteen minutes later to commit her to the Lord. I could rejoice. A year and four weeks of fighting this battle was over. The victory was won. A saint—my Mama Jewett– had entered heaven.
When I told close friends the exact time mother had died, I learned some had at that very moment heard God’s gentle voice to pray for her—escorting her in prayer into the heavenlies to meet face to face with Jesus whom she loved so passionately.
Fran and Effie, mom’s two prayer partners, gathered in a home to pray specifically for her as she was breathing her last. Carol stopped her housework and went to walk on the beach beside her house to intercede for her. Laura, 450 miles away in Melbourne, Florida, put down the manuscript she was working on and walked out on her screen porch to pray for her. Aunt Betty in California—clear across the States—picked up her Bible and said a special prayer for mom.
All this went on the moment Mom was entering heaven. Oh, the blessedness of intercessors. How comforting to learn God had spoken to each of these women friends in a quiet way and prompted them to stop and pray for mother.
Moments to cherish. A social worker and friends to thank. Mom to honor. God to praise! Why not tell someone about your special never-to-be-forgotten event. I’m sure you have one.
Prayer: Almighty Father, I am so grateful for my mother. And for the assurance that she is now in heaven. Thankful too for her steadfast love for You which she passed on to many others. Thank You also for friends who hear Your voice to intercede at the exact minute they are needed. Bless them and help me keep alert to pray for others when I am needed. In Jesus’ name I ask, Amen.
Scripture: She watches over the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children rise up and call her blessed. (Proverbs 31: 27, 28a NKJV)
Excerpted from Listen God Is Speaking To You by Quin Sherrer
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