Yesterday, I learned that the couple I babysit for had lost the baby girl that she had been carrying for almost 6 months.  Just before this happened, she began having trouble with high blood pressure and the doctor was concerned that she could have a stroke.  Options were discussed at the hospital but, due to a medical issue that was extremely dangerous for the mother,  the end result was that they would have to take the baby.

My daughter and her husband are very close friends with this couple.  When they found out, they recalled their own grief from last fall when they, too, lost their own baby very early on in her pregnancy.  My  heart deeply remembered their loss as well.

We wonder why these things have to happen and sometimes question God’s reasoning and purpose for it.  Yet, I am reminded of the scripture in Psalm 30:5 that says, “weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.” (NIV)  God sees the bigger picture and helps us through our struggles, pain, and grief.  We may never know “why” but in our hearts we continue to trust and believe that “all things work together” and that “joy will come in the morning” as long as we continue to keep our trust and faith in Him.

May the Lord bless and keep us as we trust Him at His word.

It has been 15 years since my mother passed away.  She had been battling lung cancer for almost two years.  We thought it had gone into remission, but when she contracted a deep cough/cold and had another xray, we knew it had returned.  At that time she and my dad were living in Omaha, NE, and we had recently moved back to Pennsylvania.

My sisters and I decided that it was important that we move my mother in with my family because the doctor said she had less than six months to live.  As it turned out, she lived one month to the day we moved her back.  The trip was long but she never complained.   She would just look at me, smile, and say thank you.

Over the years, especially on Mother’s Day, I have often reflected on my mother’s strengths.  Although there were 12 children in the family, she always manged to be thrifty and crafty.  I can remember coming home from school and finding her sitting on the couch sewing a valance for the kitchen window.  When I asked her where she had purchased the material, she smiled and said she used ready-made curtains–she just took them apart and made something new.  It was then that I realized she did the best that she could with what she already had.  Over the years, she crafted numerous creations for our humble environment, and we were always amazed at the beautiful results.  She even knew how to fix a chair’s leg that had fallen off and got pretty handy with a screwdriver and hammer.  Those projects and lessons spilled over into my own life, and I believe she was the catalyst to my enjoying sewing and crafts today.  My mom also encouraged me to become the best person I could be, and she always believed in me when I did not.

I am reminded that, if my mother could turn something old into something new, God can do the same.  He loves us unconditionally and will create in us a new heart if we just ask.  Since God is the Potter and we are the clay, He creates and molds us into what He wants us to become on a daily basis.

Have a wonderful Mother’s Day and enjoy reminiscing about all the things you loved about your own mother.  Until next time.