Last night I looked at the face of my mom. Her eyes were closed. I don’t know if she knew I was there. I held her hand…touched her arm that is black and blue from so many tests. Her breathing was difficult even with the help of a breathing machine. She has fluid on her heart and lungs…kidneys are failing…pneumonia…leukemia.
I kept thinking this is my mom…I’ve seen her face countless times but tonight I am really seeing her face. I saw not just mom, but “Doris”, the lady everyone else has known for 79 years. I saw ‘Grandmother”, the beautiful centerpiece of several generations of children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. A shy country girl… humble almost to a fault…she has walked into and never really out of thousands of lives…and everyone of them, for at least once in their life felt love…genuine and unconditional.
Mom is like the Shepherd that David describes in the 23rd Psalm. She can be counted on… no matter the situation in life…no matter the dangers…even in the shadow of death…she has always prepared a table before us…even in the presence of those common enemies in life such as fear, anxiety, confusion, doubt, loneliness… at her table many cups have run over with the richness of her vibrant reflection of God…goodness and mercy have been ever-present…all the days of her life.
Mom has prepared her table for the lonely, the desperate, the victorious, the hurting, the joyful, the unloved, the much loved. Each one gets the same table…no distinction. Jesus is her friend…the reflection of Him in her life is unmistakable.
