Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Day Fourteen: Perfect Healing.

The cold, Georgia raindrops. 
At the end of October, just a few short days before I started my series on A Month of Thanks, I wrote a post about my sister and her Mom away from home.  If you missed that post, it's best that you go read it now, so that you're caught up.  It's called Raindrops

Last Wednesday, Mr. M, G & I, along with my parents piled into a van and drove to Tennessee for Thanksgiving. It's always draining to squeeze six adults, a two year old, a dog and two cats in a small space for five days.  There are moments where I know we were all thinking, "man, I can't wait until this vacation is over".  There had been bickering and arguing, and one pretty nasty blow up between my sister and I.  That confrontation happened on Saturday afternoon and pretty much left us with awkward tension for the rest of the evening.  The tension and semi-silent treatment bled into the next morning. As a family, we all decided to head to the Chattanooga Market and make the best out of the rainy Sunday afternoon.  We did.  My sister and I had made conversation, but things still weren't right.  Then the phone call came.  It was B - my sis's boyfriend.  His mom passed away that morning at about 8:00am.  I could hear the tears in Nutmeg's voice.  Before she even hung up the phone, I knew what had happened.  There we sat...all seven of us...at a stop light. Silence filled the air.  I was stricken with guilt for acting so foolish the night before - arguing over something petty, when there were such bigger, more serious problems in the world - in the world very close to me. 

She [B's mom] passed exactly a month after I wrote Raindrops.  Many people prayed for her and for her family.  Everyone wanted her to be healed.  She has received healing now - perfect healing.  I know without a doubt, that she is with our Savior.  No more pain.  No more tears.  No more fear.  I don't understand why she is gone.  She was so full of life, and had so much love to share.  She'll never see her grandchildren.  She'll never see Nutmeg and B get married one day.  Or see B finish college.  I know God has His reasons - reasons we can't understand.  But it seems so unfair in so many ways.

The Tennessee rain continued to fall through Sunday night and into Monday.  It was cold, and there was such a solemn spirit in the air.  After saying our goodbyes to Nutmeg and my little brother, we packed in the car and were on our way.  It was cold and it was raining.  During the ten hour drive from Chattanooga back to Florida, the only thing on my mind was the family behind Raindrops

We stopped at a McDonald's for coffee...a song was on the radio, and it took everything inside of me to choke back the tears.  I don't even know why.  The song really didn't relate to the situation at hand, but I couldn't wait for it to be over.  Maybe it was the rain, the bitter cold, or just the thought of losing someone you love so close to Christmas.  Maybe it's seeing first hand how short life really is.  Maybe it is the reality that others carry heavy burdens on a daily basis, and most of us are too wrapped up in our miniscule problems to even notice. Maybe it was all of it.  I really don't know.  Her services are tomorrow.  She will be missed, but she is in a much better place. 

"He will wipe every tear from their eyes.  There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."  ~Revelation 21:4



*This is the song that I heard in McDonald's:  


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