Precious Memories

Today, November 5, my mother would have been 91.  On Tuesday, November 6,  it will be 19 years since the Lord called her home in an auto accident.  There are some moments of your life that you will never forget.  We were returning from a Penn State football game and stopped in Selinsgrove at my in-laws' house.  My mother-in-law was in the hospital, not doing well, and we planned to visit her before returning home.  As we walked in the door I was told to call my son immediately.  I was stunned to find out that a teenager had driven through a stop sign and had hit my parents broadside.  My mother died instantly and my father was in the hospital.  We jumped back in the car and quickly and silently made the two hour trip to the hospital in Lancaster where we met our family and confirmed what had happened.  The next few days were a blur, making arrangements and visiting dad in the hospital.  He was released in time for the private funeral service.  However, hundreds showed up for the memorial service and we spent hours in line greeting friends who loved mother and were also stunned.  It was easy to wonder "why?" at that time.  But almost two decades later we realize that God's ways, though often unexpected, are always right.  As we've watched other folks age and suffer, often spending years in nursing homes, we realize that mother, and all of us, were spared that agony.  Our final destination of heaven is something that we look forward to, but often the journey to get there is full of pain and suffering.  Mother was spared having to face that.  While dad did suffer some in his final years, he remained active and generally able to take care of himself until the Lord suddenly took him home one morning.  He too was spared the dreaded nursing home.  And as we look back at those events we do remember our emotional pain but also the special peace and wisdom that God provided for us at those times.  But more than that, many years later we have come to see how God was in all the events.  So often we experience events that surprise us and we wonder "why?".  Sometimes it takes years to see how these were really part of God's special plan for our life.  And sometimes we may not understand that until we reach heaven and can comprehend the entire picture of God's plan.  The blessing comes when we face these trials and can reflect upon God's faithfulness to us in the past and then realize that He will not forsake us and that He has a plan for us.  If you are like me, you probably have many "why? questions" that haven't yet been answered.  But we trust an omnipotent, omniscient Father and move on with His grace and strength.  I do miss mother. I have so many fond memories  At times I do feel that I should be able to pick up the phone and call her or visit her as we did on her birthday 19 years ago.  But I don't wish her back and I thank God that He spared her from possible suffering as He welcomed her home to a much better place.  And I do have the hope that I will see her again.