"You only have two or three weeks to live." These are essentially the words the daughter of my mom's long time friend said to her mother this week. My mom's friend will be 93 years old next month. She is totally in her right mind, but her body has been failing her for a while now. Recent tests showed that her blood count was dangerously low, indicating she was probably bleeding internally. The doctor told her daughter she needed to be hospitalized and receive blood transfusions. Can you imagine sitting your elderly mother down and telling her the choice was go to the hospital or you will die within a few weeks? There were some tears, but the choice was made. She's ready to go home to Jesus and has wanted to for some time now. Of course she is torn, not wanting to leave her family, but she knows where she is going and she is weary. My mom and a few other close friends, the "brown baggers" as they call themselves, gathered with her the other day for lunch and some card games, then they prayed together. I've been weepy, thinking about this scene. Yet in some ways, isn't it really a wonderful blessing to know your time is almost at hand, and to be surrounded with the love of family and friends to bid a temporary farewell?
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By contrast, we are anxiously waiting for our 5th and 6th grandbabies to arrive toward the end of this month. A little boy is due to be born in SC around the 23rd, and a little girl is scheduled to make her appearance via C-Section here in Ohio on the 30th. I can hardly wait to cradle these new lives in my arms and look into their eyes. What joy and excitement new babies bring to families who are already full of such love for them!
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Yesterday, a babysitting day for me, was also picture day for my five year old granddaughter at her Pre-School. She arrived at my house before 8 in the morning, bubbling with excitement. She'd already had her shower and hair washed. She brought a darling outfit to wear, and couldn't wait to start primping. She painted her toenails, fingernails, sprayed herself with strawberry scented cologne, and applied clear lip gloss. I attempted to "curl" her Asian hair ("don't forget my bow, Grandma) and finally it was time to get dressed. Oh my, what will prom day be like?
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I took my mother-in-law to her first follow up doctor's appointment since her fall and hospitalization. I unnecessarily lost a little sleep the night before, worrying about how things would go. She didn't want to ride in my car because she was afraid it would be too difficult to get into. I didn't want to drive her car because I never have before, and was uncomfortable at the thought. There were several other minor "issues" that had potential for making the morning challenging. But as we know, prayer changes things! Grace abounded and everything went really well. She agreed to "try" to get into my car and I agreed to drive hers if we needed to (we didn't). We actually had several meaningful conversations. At one point, while I was carrying all her stuff as she pushed her walker, she noticed my wedding band and remarked at how similar it was to hers. Now I've been married to her only child for almost 35 years and I did think it rather odd she was just noticing that...but hey...The best news was that her 85 year old pelvic bones were healing themselves right on schedule. Is that not amazing? We see another doctor tomorrow, but I'm not going to be anxious about it. Things are going well.
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My Christian psychologist-brother, Dr. Don Lichi, is having his first book published very soon. I'm honored that he sent me the final draft and asked me to proofread it, along with a few other pairs of eyes. This reading is only for any potential glaring errors, as the publisher is just about ready to go. I'm very excited for him, and I'll give you more details at the appropriate time. I believe this is a very important book and I can't wait to get my autographed copy. It is titled, Broken Windows of the Soul and is about sexual addictions. Don co-authored it with one of his former pastors.
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I'm participating in some Lenten disciplines that I hope will help me to focus on more holy living in the coming days. I'm also working on some ministry-related things that I'll tell you about soon. This is enough about me for today~~What's going on with you?
