Three days from now would have been her eightieth birthday.
Now home with her Lord, she is forever ageless.
I treasure so much the intangibles of her legacy to me.
We were so close, and we shared many things.
One thing, however, she would have withheld from me
Had the power to do so rested with her alone.
Six years ago, she heard those dreaded words,
"You have breast cancer in an advanced stage."
Praying for healing and trusting for strength, she agreed to the mastectomy.
The surgery came too late for her; further treatment was deemed pointless.
The cancer had already invaded her bones and conquered her liver.
For two months after her diagnosis, she fought her battle.
Those of us she loved prayed and fought with her.
Often she spoke of my father, of how she'd missed him the three years since his death.
Beside her bed, we sat and read aloud the Bible that she loved.
We prayed with her and for her.
We sang hymns of faith and praise to cheer her.
Her body weakened quickly as the cancer persevered in its destructive work.
Still she fought. Still we prayed and sang and read the Word.
In my room, alone, I cried.
In my heart, I hold the memory of one late night during her illness.
As I knelt beside her bed, I held her hand.
As I sang the last words of "'Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus," she squeezed my hand.
Opening her beautiful eyes, she smiled at me.
Her face alight, she said, "I love you."
Then, one late July day, she was admitted to the hospital; I knew she would not live long.
For the first time in my life, my mother, heavily sedated, did not know me.
The last two days, she slept. I prayed for strength to let her go.
Then came that moment.
As I held her right hand, my husband her left one, and friends stood with us,
She went Home to her Lord and to the loved ones she'd missed for so long.
Now, six years later, as I recover from the disease that took her life,
I can almost hear her say, "You had an opportunity I didn't have."
And I can almost see her smile as she adds, "Thank the precious Lord!"
I whisper, "I do thank Him, Mama. For my healing, for your faith, for His grace!"