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MOM'S STORY
by Libby |
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I have always believed in an afterlife and in the presence of
angels in this one.
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When I was a young girl, I dated a boy who worked in the
terminal cancer ward of a veterans' hospital. He had told
me that at the moment of death, the large majority of
patients would look up, speak a name, or lift their arms, as
they passed from this lifeäas if there was someone there
to greet them and carry them onward.
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But this is Mom's story.
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In the summer of 1990, my mom was dying of cirrhosis.
She had been ill for a long time, but that summer her
roommate called and suggested my sister and I come out
to Nevada as soon as possible.
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By the time we arrived, Mom had been taken to the hospital.
For several days we watched as treatments to sustain her
were induced, but of course, there was no cure.
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My mother had had a Living Will and her doctor was well
aware of it. For whatever reason, he kept assuring her that
eventually she would go home. He spoke to her of an
experimental surgery to bypass her liver that might allow
her to live a normal life.
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My sister and I, however, had our suspicions. Finally we got
the doctor aside and asked him point blank if Mom would
ever to home again. He admitted that, no, she
wouldn'täthe best she could hope for would be a nursing
home for the remainder of her life. This was something
Mom had dreaded, the last thing she would want.
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Sadly, we informed Mom that the hope the doctor had been
giving her was false. Shortly after she requested to be seen
by her doctor, and when he came in, she told him to stop all
treatment immediately. She promptly ordered an orange
juice.
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Mom's doctor prescribed Morphine to reduce the pain she
was in, and she was moved from Intensive Care to a
regular room.
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The very next day I had to leave and return home to my
family in Wisconsin. School was starting and I had young
children to care for. As I kissed my Momma goodbye, I
knew in my heart that I would never see her in this life
again. It was the hardest thing I've ever done.
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My sister committed to staying with Mom until the end, and
bedded down in her hospital room on a cot that the hospital
provided for her.
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One day, during the weeks that followed, Mom asked my
sister who "those people were" and why they were talking
to her about her going on a trip. My sister looked around
and said, "I see nobody, Mom. What are you talking about?
"But Mom insisted there were two people in the room,
sitting "right there on those chairs."
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Another night, shortly before Mom passed from this life into
the next, she woke my sister. "Do you see that?" she asked.
My sister asked "what Momäwhat do you see?" And Mom
responded "I see green treesäup thereäin the corner."
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The morning after my Mother passed away, my sister was
sitting at Moms dining room table. Outside the window
grew bushes that the Hummingbirds loved to visit.
Hummingbirds are a common sight out West, but this
particular morning a very large group of them flew right up
in front of the windowähumming about the shrubs for
many long minutes, flittering in front of the window where
my sister sat. Then, as a group, they all flew away.
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It was as if my Mom were there with the birdsä.saying "I'm
fineäI love youäI'm leaving nowägoodbye."
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Coincidence? I think not. Angels? I believe so. And I'm so
grateful that they were there to hold her hands and to take
her Home.
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Libby
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BLUE EYES |
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Glenn, 5, the son of Lucille and Elmer Powell of Seagoville,
Texas, was talking to a visitor in their home. When asked,
"Where did you get those pretty blue eyes?" Glenn thought
for a moment and replied, "God gave them to me and
Mama put them in!"
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For this funny contribution we thank Grace Witwer
Housholder. To receive the delightful weekly "Funny Kids"
e-mail column send a blank message to:
funnykids-subscribe@onelist.com
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FOLLOWING MY HEART
by Becky |
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Way back when I was in high school, I had definite ideas
about what I wanted to be when I grew up. I knew without a
doubt that I wanted to be a wife and mother. I was very
happy with my decision. At 16-years-old, I had even met the
love of my life. I knew that he was the one I wanted to spend
my life with and have children with. I felt very good about all
this until my senior year in high school.
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It was then that it became evident that I was going to rank at
the top of my graduating class. That should have been
something else for me to feel good about, but it seemed to
bring me undue pressure. It seemed that every adult I
came into contact with wanted to know what my future
plans were.
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I shared confidently that I wanted to be a wife and mother
with those who asked and that's when the pressure began.
No one seemed to think that my goals were lofty enough.
They all urged me to aim high. I couldn't think of a higher
calling, but they didn't seem to understand. No one did
except for one teacher, my English teacher.
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She encouraged me by telling me that she trusted my
judgement and knew that in the end all would work out for
me even if I followed my heart and chose to simply be a
wife and mother. I was so grateful for her understanding
and encouraging words.
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Well, life was good as I pursued my goals. I did attend
college for 1 year while waiting for my love, who was
serving in the Navy to get back to the States. I knew that I
was really just buying time until our marriage, but I had
scholarships that took care of the expense, so it seemed
like a good thing to do. Finally, we were married, and I was
extremely happy with my choice to be a wife. Two years
later, we started our family; and again, I knew that I'd made
the right choice. Being a mother was so wonderful. We
went on to have two more children, and I was blessed by
being able to be a stay-at-home mom. It was all I'd ever
dreamed of.
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When the day came that all our little darlings were in
school, I began to pray about what to do with the time I
found I had on my hands. Through a series of events that
could be an entire story of their own, God let me know
without a doubt that my next goal should be to become a
teacher. I was so excited! I mean, how many people get the
chance to grow up and be exactly what they want and then
do it again with a new dream? I made preparations and
was all set to begin classes in June of 1991.
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On May 16, 1991, however, things changed. My husband
was in an accident that resulted in his having to have his
arm amputated. He was left unable to work, and we were
left with lots of questions. While it was evident then that we
would actually need for me to go to work, we weren't sure
exactly how we'd be able to put me through college with
neither of us working. Fortunately, when life was good, it
was very good. We'd been able to purchase our home
while Jimmy was working and the day after his accident I
made the last payment on the only bank note we had, so
we were debt free. I had postponed starting school in June,
but by August we were feeling led by the Lord to go ahead
with my plan to go back to college for my degree in
education. There were many times that we weren't sure we
could "make it." As a matter of fact, it never did make sense
on paper that we were able to do what we were doing, but
we never went without anything we needed. God always
came through just when we needed help.
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One Christmas we weren't sure about the next semester
so we asked my father if he and mom would buy my books
for that term instead of other Christmas gifts. He
immediately wrote me a check that covered not just my
books but the next semester's tuition as well. Not long after
that was awarded a nontraditional student scholarship and
another smaller scholarship that I'd applied for. I wanted to
send thank you notes to the companies that funded the
scholarships, so I went to the financial aid office to inquire
as to whom I could address notes to. What I found out that
day assured me that God was in control and that I had
been right all along in following my heart. You see, the big
scholarship that I was awarded had been funded by the
very same teacher who twenty years earlier had
encouraged me to do what I knew was right in my heart.
Even after all those years, there she was enabling me to
fulfill not only one dream in my life, but a second one as
well. Thank you, Mrs. D., You know you're the best.
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Becky Holloway
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Becky adds: My first teaching job was back at the very high
school I'd graduated from. Due to recent renovations, my
first classroom was in the very spot where I'd stood in the
auditorium 20 years earlier to make my valedictorian
speech. I had thanked my teachers for all the lessons
they'd taught me and said a special thank you to those who
had truly believed in me. As I taught that first year, I daily
gave thanks for Mrs. D and the encouragement she gave
me by believing in me.
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Becky lives in a small town in south Arkansas where she
teaches middle school. She and her husband have been
married 24 years and they have three children
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ANNETTE'S PERFECT SMILE
by Susan |
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A black patent leather shoe with a broken strap sat in the
corner of the closet of the now empty bedroom. I looked
around to make sure I had packed everything. I could hear
the childish chatter and laugh of my 2 year old daughter as
she danced around, listening to the echo of her shoes on
the bare wooden floors.
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It was time to put the last box into the car for our trip to our
new home. We were moving from Moweaqua, the little town
in Illinois that I had been raised in, to Crown Point Indiana,
where my husband was from . It was a sunny day even
though it was December 5th, 1965. I had made sure that I
had gotten all the Christmas gifts packed out of sight of
little eyes. I would miss my family here in Moweaqua, but
would be close to Harold's family for Christmas.
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"Nettie, come on, we have to get on the road Angel face ,
Sissy is waiting for us"
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Annette came dancing into the room, calling back over her
shoulder " bye bye betroom, bye bye kitchen, bye bye liver
room." Her dark curls were plastered against her sweaty
neck and face, and she gave me that crooked little chipped
tooth smile of hers. (when she had just started to walk, she
had fallen and chipped her front tooth on an end table in the
living room , or "liver room" as she called it).
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Annette loved her little 3 month old sister Balinda, or Lido ,
the nickname she had for her. Balinda had been running a
fever when my sister in law, Juanita and I and Annette had
started out two days before, to get the last load of
belongings. My mother in law had kept Balinda so I
wouldn't have to try to pack and take care of a sick baby.
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We had spent the night before at my mom and dad's
house, next to the little grocery store they owned, Largen's
Grocery. Annette had gone to the store that morning, telling
customers goodbye and that she would see them again
some day. She kept hugging and kissing my folks, and all
of her cousins and saying how much she loved them and
would miss them so much. We laughed as we knew we
would be coming back quite often.
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We drove with the windows down so the breeze could cool
us off. It was beautiful out, not a cloud in the sky. When we
reached Gilman, Illinois we decided to stop for lunch.
Annette ordered a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and
some potato soup. It took a long time for me to be able to
eat potato soup after that day.
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We finished our lunch and got back on the road. As we
approached the east side of town, there is a " T "
intersection. I had the right of way, as I was going straight.
Suddenly from my left I saw a green blur, coming at me at a
high rate of speed. I slammed my brakes on, my car
stopped only when the wheels of a two ton army truck
towing a two ton army truck rolled across the front of my car,
inches away from my windshield. I could hear glass
breaking, metal tearing, screams tore from my throat, then
SILENCE. We learned later that the driver of the army truck
had fallen asleep at the wheel.
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I had some kind of liquid dripping from my face. It was
furniture polish from a bottle that had broken on the back of
my seat. I wiped it from my eyes. GOD IT BURNED. I tried to
move, but the steering wheel had me pinned against the
seat. Somehow I got out of the car and ran to the other side.
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A man stood there holding Annette. I went to her, but he
backed away telling me not to touch her as she had glass
all over her and I might make it cut her.
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My sister in law was pinned under the dashboard of the car.
The two Army trucks were sitting yards away in the middle
of a corn field.
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An ambulance took us to the hospital, where I was told that
Annette, my little Angel face, was dead. I was taken into X-
ray, then had a cast put on to hold my broken knee in place.
Stitches were put in my bottom lip, where my teeth had
bitten through, and stitches in my face and head from the
flying glass. We were released from the hospital later that
evening.
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Harold and I went back to Moweaqua to make the funeral
arrangements for Annette. We had gotten her a mustard
seed necklace for Christmas, but it and most of the
Christmas presents had been stolen out of the mangled
car. I searched both of the jewelry shops in Moweaqua but
couldn't find another mustard seed necklace, so had to buy
a small gold cross to put on her.
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The night before the funeral, I was laying in bed, crying
from pain and also from the dread that my little Angel would
be put in the ground the next day. My heart was breaking
inside of me.
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Suddenly Annette was standing beside the bed, looking at
me with the most peaceful look on her face. She gave me
the biggest smile and said " Bye Mommy". HER TOOTH
WAS NOT CHIPPED anymore.!!!! Then she faded out of
sight and I fell sound to sleep.
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I told my husband and sister in law about it the next
morning, my husband didn't have much to say about it, just
looked at me in a funny way. My sister in law said it was
from all the medications the hospital had given me, the
pain pills, the sleeping pills and the nerve pills. But I KNOW
better, GOD sent Annette back to tell me goodbye and to
show me that she was whole and well.
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GOD BLESS YOU ANNETTE MARIE NOFFSINGER
(October 7, 1963 to Dec.5, 1965) I will see you again one
day, and thank you for being my own little Angel
your mommy.
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Susan ( Noffsinger) Roberts
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In a separate letter, Susan mentioned the weather on the
day that Annette was buried. She said, " it was cloudy and
overcast. When we got to the cemetery, and services
started, the sun broke through and stayed out until we left
the cemetery. It was almost like she was smiling down on
us for that service"
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Pictures of Annette sit on the coffee table and on a wall. the
family has noticed that every Christmas, when family
photos are being done that Annette's picture has ended up
in the family Christmas pictures. Susan remarked, "It is as
if she is still wanting to have her picture included with ours."
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EDITOR'S note* Thank you Susan for mailing me the
picture of your little angel. She is adorable and I know she
is surrounded by love.
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STILL WATER
by David |
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It was four years ago and one of those none descriptive
days, not too hot, not too cold, just an average day. Still, I
remember it as clearly as the day President Kennedy was
shot, or when the Shuttle Challenger exploded on take-off.
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I arrived at my destination but I don't remember the drive or
much of anything, other than seeing a few cars in the
parking lot. I lingered awhile and listened to one of eight
special songs I had copied together for a ceremony earlier
that week.
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I opened my door and tried to compose myself before I
went into the building. I was there to pick up a package. I
don't know what I had expected but as they handed it to me
I thought it was too small. The clerk said, "Could you
please sign, here?" He handed me a clipboard. He gave
me the receipt and a copy of instructions.
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I placed the package in the trunk so my wife wouldn't see it
in the car. Also, inside the trunk were some leftover
programs and some dried flowers that I had placed there
earlier in the week. My brother-in-law, a commercial
fisherman here in California, had reminded me several
times not to forget the flowers for the boat ride he had
arranged for the next morning.
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The next morning came very quickly. My brother-in-law
asked if we could arrive at his boat around 5:00 AM,
because the trip we would be taking was going to be over
two hours in length. It was still dark as we arrived at the
dock. My father and a family friend who were invited for the
trip where there waiting as I arrived. My wife, Cindy, had
declined to go with us because she was going to stay with
our three children at home.
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Streams of light were now showing in the east. We all
boarded as the boat engine roared to life. I handed my dad
the package and the dried flowers and jumped over the rail
onto the deck.
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We started to move out between the docks and soon we
were heading toward the mouth of the harbor. When we hit
the open area just outside the harbor I expected rough
seas. What I saw was still water, the only waves visible
were the ones being made by the bow of our boat. The sky
was filled with a gray high level overcast.
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We proceeded with a slow chug toward our destination,
the lighthouse high on the hill overlooking the point of the
peninsula. I prayed that I would be able to complete the
task that needed to be done. When we reached the
lighthouse, my brother-in-law turned the boat due west. I
went up onto the captain's deck to watch the rings on the
sonar system as they scrolled away from the point of the
peninsula. One mile, than two and finally three miles west
of the lighthouse. It was now the time to complete the task
we had journeyed out into the Pacific for that morning. He
cut the engine and circled the boat to keep our position.
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I went down to the main deck where my father and friend
had been the whole trip. My dad held the package and my
friend, the flowers. I asked for the package that was
wrapped in plain paper with just one name written on the
side, "Derek." I opened the paper to see a purple bag
that contained a plastic box with a lid at one end .I pulled
out the box and removed the tape holding the lid and
looked inside. There, for the first time, I was looking at the
ashes of my 2-year-old son who had drowned in our pool
two weeks earlier.
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I then moved to the back rail of the boat and asked my dad
to pray. My friend placed the flowers into the motionless
water. As my dad concluded the prayer, I poured the
contents of the box over the side. A whitish-gray cloud
formed a funnel shape down into the dark depths of the
ocean. At that moment from the northeast breaking through
that eerie calm was the most beautiful site I'd ever seen - a
pod of twelve dolphins, young and old, jumping through the
surface of the water in joyous celebration. Also, in perfect
style of a military fly-by for a distinguished officer, ten
pelicans flew past just a few feet off the glassy surface.
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My prayers of that week were that God would show me how
to make this tragedy a celebration of my young son's life.
Through the use of some beautiful creatures and perfect
timing, God brought it all together.
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Two years later still hurting from the loss of our son, we
were all in need of the joy a two year old could bring our
family. Cindy prayed that if God would provide a child we
could love he would fill a special place in our hearts.
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That Sunday at church I had noticed a child I had not seen
before, around the age of two, who was very possessive of
the toys in the playground. Inquiring I found that he was a
child whose young mother could not properly care for his
needs after her husband had left.
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He was now living with his uncle and aunt who were young
and had a six-month old son of their own. They were deeply
considering returning him to his mother. I wondered out
loud to his uncle, that if he were returned what would be his
plight. He informed me that his mother would most likely
send him to live with his grandfather in Guatemala. At this
time Guatemala was in deep turmoil. I could not bear the
thought of this child being sent to live in such chaos without
doing something. I asked his uncle if he could reach the
mother and have her call me.
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The two years since putting Derek to rest, I lived in a state
of numbness. Nothing I had considered important in the
past, my executive position, friends, sports or even sadly,
my family, held any luster. I just had a hard time focusing
on anything other than this empty feeling in my life.
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As I had asked, I got the call for the boys' mother. We
talked for a long time, I was very nervous and excited about
the possibility of working out the details and having another
new addition to our family. On a cool Thursday night, two
years of prayer were answered when Erick came to live with
us as our son.
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Even though I was not looking for a replacement for the
son I had lost, Erick came into our lives at the right time.
The numbness is not completely gone but the emptiness
in my heart was replaced with a joyful two-year-old named
Erick.
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Each time I felt that uneasiness and sorrow building up
inside, I would hug our newest gift from God and he was
able to bring back a calm like filling me with warm still
water.
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David Sims 99'
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David lives in Carson, California with his high school
sweetheart and wife of 22 years, Cindy. They have five
wonderful children and a large extended family. David says,
"I help others build financial freedom through starting their
own, low investment, part-time, Internet shopping
businesses. "You can reach his E-commerce web site at:
http://www.2by2.net/ecom"
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