All Things Work Together for Good

Mom was in the hospital, her tired heart failing. Her shoulders and arms were so tiny and frail in her thin cotton gown. My husband, our two children, my sister and I surrounded her bed. It wouldn’t be long now. Her breaths grew shallow and further apart. Tears ran down our cheeks. “We’re with you, Mom. We love you.”

I remembered how 12 years earlier, I had feared Mom moving in with us. We were different in so many ways. But now, in the space between Mom’s final breaths, something incredible happened. Like a gray mist, the distance I’d always felt between the two of us evaporated. I remembered God’s whisper earlier in my caregiving journey: I’m giving you this time with her…

Despite our differences, by the time Mom passed away at 90, I had grown to respect, appreciate and love her to a degree I would never have dreamed possible. And here’s the thing: Had I not been given the opportunity to observe her closely, day in and day out, as she confronted the challenges and losses associated with aging—including blindness and heart failure—I never would have fully appreciated her strength, optimism and courage.

I’m giving you this time with her…. In the end, our time together was a beautiful and totally unexpected gift.