My parents both enjoyed their memories. Their assignments on earth were long, each living into their 90s.
My mother once ended up in the hospital for a prolonged stay after a fractured pelvis. The nurses asked her if she wanted them to turn on the tv to break the boredom. She declined, saying, “No, I’m just lying here enjoying my memories.”
She told me, “Memories are such a gift. I pray I’ll always have my good mind to enjoy my memories.”
In the fall of 1997, my parents were in an car accident. My mother spent a couple of months in the hospital, never able to return to her earthly home.
We, her family, kept an anxious vigil at her bedside, at the peak of the crisis.
The day I was to return home (I lived in another state), Mother was a little confused because of an electrolyte imbalance. Just before I had to leave, the doctor came in. He asked the usual questions to determine her mental status.
He asked her if she knew her name, where she was, etc. Then he pointed to me and said, “Do you know who she is?”
My mother smiled the smile I loved so much — the one that seemed to just open the floodgates of Love. And then she said, “Of course, I know her.”
She grabbed my hand, looked directly into my eyes and said, “Carolyn, I could never forget you. I love you so much.” And then she fell asleep.
That was the last time I saw my mother in her earthly body. Her Benediction is a Gift I treasure.
She is a part of me. I feel her continued love as a member of that “great cloud of witnesses” who watch over me every day.
Lessons
Know that today’s moments are tomorrow’s treasure of memories.
Live life to the full and make some glorious memories.
Turn off your tv and electronic devices and spend some time enjoying your memories.
When it is time to sort out your memories, may you always remember those you love.
If you love someone, tell them now. Love is a treasure, no matter whether it is enjoyed now or as an enduring memory.
“I thank my God every time I remember you.”
Philippians 1:3
