Around 12:40 a.m. this past Thursday morning, my mother Betty passed from this life into eternity.  She had been dealing with the effects of COPD for a number of years but things took a turn for the worse about a month and a half ago.  Last Monday was another crisis point and things quickly went downhill beginning Wednesday afternoon. 

I had stayed with my mom Tuesday night and was planning to do the same for Wednesday.  I had dozed off in my chair and it was the caregiver who woke me up to tell me that my mother had passed. 

The hospice nurse said that is often the case.  The one who is dying (it seems) actually waits until either the loved one(s) leaves the room for a minute or dozes off to pass.  A friend told me that he thought it might be my mother’s last gift to me – not having to see her struggle to take her last breath.  A mother’s love…

When I left my mom’s room at the health care center Thursday morning and drove home I was certainly burdened with sadness but I also had a sense of peace.  My mother had struggled and fought for so long and at the end she was in such pain, there really was no way that she could recover.  There is a peace in knowing that she is no longer suffering. 

I am confident that my mother knew the mercy and love of God when she departed this life and that she knew she was loved by her family and friends.  I told her that she had done a good job in raising her boys and that we were all okay and not to worry. 

I know that I will see my mother again because I know that our Redeemer lives. 

It still hurts though…

Rest in peace Mom.  You have earned it.  We love you.   

“May the angels lead you into paradise, may the martyrs come to welcome you and take you to the holy city, the new and eternal Jerusalem.”