Luke 24:6-7 He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, saying, "The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and must be crucified, and the third day rise again.

 

 

I think that I must get at least a part of my positive attitude and outlook from my mother. Mom married at 23 and had 14 children by the age of 43; I am the youngest. That in itself would be enough to drive the average woman over the brink! Not my mom. I was only 5 when she became a widow. Of course, I don't remember the trips to and from the hospital, the bedside vigils, the loss of income and everything else that goes along with a terminal illness.

I do remember that my mom seemed unstoppable! From dawn till dusk, she was on the go. Mom sewed all for all of us girls and the grandkids, too. Dinner was always in the pressure cooker (we didn't have crock pots back then) while she was rushing someone to or from work. There were none of those boxed or microwave meals that we have today either! I can savor the taste of Mom's barbeque, her donuts, and so many of the wonderful things she used to fix.

My mother's life has not been easy to say the least. After caring for her family for over 40 years, Mom suffered a stroke in 1976. For the last 22 years, the paralysis on her left side has kept her from many of the activities that formed her existence. For many years now Mom has suffered mini-strokes that have left her in a wheelchair most of the time. Her long life has afforded her many blessings, but also many heartaches. I lost a brother to cancer in 1977; he was only 42. And we lost a sister to breast cancer in 1995.

Recently we thought we were going to have to place Mom in a nursing home. Her care was requiring more that my sister Linda could give. Now my mother hates nursing homes!!! (Probably hates them more than anything on this earth.) When we discussed this with her, she said people on coumadin and people who are diabetic aren't suppose to be under a lot of stress. "And I just don't think I could handle all that noise from those ‘old folks' in a nursing home!"

We prayed about this situation and God answered in a mighty way. Mom recently came to live with my sister Diana, a CNA with over 30 years experience. Diana gave up her job to make this possible. With changes in Medicare, it was determined that Mom couldn't get therapy without a nursing home stay --and believe it or not, my mom agreed to a brief stay in the nursing home so that she can get the therapy she so badly needs!

I had the opportunity last night to go visit with her. It was so good to see my mother smiling and happy. To watch her play Bingo at 87 and worry about her prize! "Surely its not those pills he just brought me," she said with a grin.

Enough about my mother! What about you? Do the circumstances in your life have your smile turned upside down? I think of people I have met - the young mother who lost a child to SIDS, the woman who turned to alcohol when the nest was empty, the man who willed himself to die because he thought his illness would take their finances... I can only imagine the emptiness and abandonment these people felt. Imagine it, because I have truly never felt it!

Each day when I ride along in my wheelchair, I know that I am not alone. Jesus rides with me. Each time I share my testimony, I know that I have this opportunity because I am in this chair. You see, instead of being an obstacle, it actually became a door opener. WHATEVER the circumstance in your life, Jesus loves you! I found a little passage on the Internet that I feel says it better than I ever could:

There are 5 simple words that can help anyone get through any situation. Those words are: "I love you. Trust me."

Imagine these words spoken by JESUS as the two of you are alone, in intimate conversation, in any setting that is most comfortable to you.

Your heart is breaking. The person you love has betrayed you. JESUS says to you, looking deep into your eyes and heart...the eyes He created and the heart He knows better than you do... "I love you! Trust ME!"

Life is hard. Circumstances have torn you and shredded you until you're battered and bruised and bleeding. JESUS holds out His bleeding Hands... Hands that were torn and bruised for your sake to pay the price you couldn't and carry you Home with Himself. The same JESUS who gave His all for you says "I LOVE you! TRUST Me!"

When everyone else seems to have things so easy and your life seems to be one battle and struggle after another. When you are flooded with sounds and images of happy couples with lives and limbs entwined in love, day and night, yet you go to a lonely-tear filled bed. When no person is there to comfort you, and you think there is no comfort in the world that can help... JESUS, the Creator of Comfort, the One who has prepared a perfect and eternal resting place for your heart with His and Home for your body and soul throughout eternity, says to you, smiling,

"I love YOU! TRUST ME!"

Life is reciprocal. Love can't be held in the heart any more than water can long be held in the hand. As He loves you we must love others... We must share it, we must pour it out, we must say it, laughing almost in spite of ourselves, loving as if it were something new... going to every person we meet, every one of them with some hidden hurt of the heart... We must share this message, though they may not be able to "hear" it or accept it for the moment...

"I love you! Trust me!" © 1994 Paul A. Vilano

April 1998

 

Author's Note: Minutes after completing this article, I received a call to the emergency room where my mother was diagnosed as suffering from a heart attack.  Over the next 13 days, my mother suffered 5 heart attacks. Every day thereafter was a gift from God... My mother passed away in her sleep at the age of 92 on October 2, 2012.