Remembering Mom

This month marks the 5th anniversary of my mother's passing. She was one of the most devout Believers of modern times that I know! Eight years earlier, my father had passed away. Even this tragedy did not shake her faith. In fact, she became even closer to the Lord clinging to the hope He promised her and all of us in the bible. That hope is that one day, we who believe in Jesus, will have eternal life with Him in heaven. No more tears, loneliness, anxiety, physical disabilities, worries, sadness, depression. All of these worldly woes have no room in God's kingdom. I miss my mother. But I know where she is and it brings me comfort. In her final days on earth, she had asked me to read a passage she treasured. One that gave her comfort in disturbing times. "The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing." Zephaniah 3:17. How beautiful is that! We have a Lord that rejoices over us in singing! I was with my mother as she left this world to be home with the Lord. When it was done, I remember the odd feeling of her being gone even though her body was still here. A nurse came in and asked if I wanted to be alone with her for a while before staff came in to take her. I declined because this just wasn't the mother I knew. The mother I know is alive! She is alive in Christ and present with him at this moment. If she could say anything to me right now about what this is like, I know what she'd say, "Ohhhhh Lynn!". "Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. We live by faith, not be sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord." II Corinthians 5:6-8"