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Singing Through Death

Posted by eph21920 on December 14, 2017 in Death, Faith, Music, Prayer

A friend of mine commented on yesterday’s post with a beautiful story of her own as she sang to her mother during her death. I will share it as my post for the day.

“Yes, God gives you graces you never dreamed of. I, too, was singing out loud when my mother took her last breath. It was Easter Monday and I was singing “He Lives!” It was an amazing experience! We were alone in her room and on the chorus, it was like she tried to sing with me so I said, “Oh, you want to sing too?!” Then I continued, knowing she was listening. When I started the 4th verse, “Rejoice, rejoice, he Christian, lift up your voice and sing….” she took one deep breath ( her only one!—the last, no slower or slower or “death rattle!”) and I paused after each phrase, waiting for another breath, until I got to the chorus and realized: SHE’S GONE! SHE ISN’T HERE ANYMORE! I pressed the button to call the hospice nurse and kept right in singing the chorus as she came in! I realized when I had sung “Eternal hallelujah to Jesus Christ the King” she was already there singing to Him! The last nurse had been Catholic and asked if she could pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet over my mom. I told her I am Catholic, but my mom is Christian ( Church of the Nazarene) and we both prayed the Chaplet over her. It gives me great comfort and confidence. What a blessing to recount it to others!!”

I Found God today in another story of a daughter ushering her mother through death.

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Song of Life

Posted by eph21920 on December 13, 2017 in Death, Friends, Grace, Life, Music

Today I was talking with a group of people about music. We discussed the instruments we played and the influence that our parents had on our love for music. One of the ladies said that her mother wrote a song. The lyrics describe the stages of life. She said when her mother was dying, she played the guitar and sang the song to her. I was so moved by that. I asked her how she was able to even get through the piece. She replied, “Only by the grace of God.” That is one of the most beautiful things I think I have ever heard.

I Found God today as a woman ushered her mother through the final stage of life with her song.

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Children in Church

Posted by eph21920 on December 12, 2017 in Advent, Children, Family, Prayer

When we attend church, we always sit in the back. This is also where the large baptismal font is located. The other morning during Mass, there was an adorable little boy just learning to walk who was holding on as he practiced walking around and around the font as his dad followed him. At the end of Mass, the priest asked all the children to come to the altar for a special blessing. The little boy’s siblings made their way up the long aisle, so naturally the boy wanted to go too. His dad held his hands and everyone waited for him to walk to the front. It was precious. After the blessing, another little boy ran out of the church, with a sibling running behind to catch him. This reminded my mom of when my older brother ran away from her at church when she was pregnant. She had 2 other little ones also, and my brother knew she couldn’t catch him. Evidently he eventually returned on his own. Today’s Advent meditation encouraged families to take their children to church and we thought of these particular events. There is no doubt that it is difficult to bring young children to church. But I’m sure that the children participating in the blessing felt pretty special being called up to the altar and having everyone pray for them.

I Found God today in a reminder how important it is to bring children to church and include them in the celebration.

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Supportive Groups

Posted by eph21920 on December 11, 2017 in Answer, Connected, Grateful, Life, Problem

We had 3 events today. My mom went to her exercise class in the morning. I had a caregiver’s support group/class in the afternoon. And tonight I met with my prayer group. In each event, at least one person expressed their gratitude for the group – particularly for the other people present. In each session, people realized that they are not alone in their struggles. The others there support them and help to build them up. I know that is true for me. When I am in my own mess by myself, I will reach the point where I feel like I am going to explode. Being with other people who have similar difficulties helps me to talk, listen, and learn. Even though each of the events were focused on completely different things, the result was the same for each. People were boosted, lifted up, by one another and came away better because of it.

I Found God today in supportive groups of people.

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Paying it Forward

Posted by eph21920 on December 10, 2017 in Uncategorized

A few weeks ago when we went to our usual restaurant after church, an unknown stranger bought our lunch. My mom decided we should pay it forward. She kept an eye out last week, but the place was pretty empty. This week, my mom mentioned that she still wanted to purchase someone’s meal. Then, at the next table, we heard the unmistakable cry of a newborn. There was a family of a mom, dad, toddler, and infant. The dad picked up the baby and did his best to quiet him. My Mom then knew that she wanted this young family to receive the “pay it forward”. She suggested it to my dad, so when he went up to pay our bill, he said he wanted to take care of the tab for the family. It made us all feel joyful.

I Found God today in my parents’ thoughtfulness and generosity.

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Old Entertaining Group

Posted by eph21920 on December 9, 2017 in Connected, Family, Music

When my family lived in this area about 50 years ago, my mom was part of a singing group that would perform for different organizations. After a couple of years, we moved overseas. During that time, the musical group continued, but under a different name. We eventually moved back and my parents have lived here ever since. Today, we went to the annual Parkinson’s support group Christmas party. The entertainment was the music group that my mom had belonged to all those years ago. I thought it interesting how our lives can be so intertwined.

I Found God today realizing how intertwined our lives are.

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Contemplating Mary

Posted by eph21920 on December 8, 2017 in Faith, Grace, Mary, Trust

This morning when I got in the car to go exercise, I turned on the radio which was set for Christmas music. The song, “Ave Maria” was on. It reminded me that today is the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary. When my parents and I read a meditation in the morning it suggested praying the Angelus prayer, so we did it right then. Then the Mass included scripture about Mary and the music included all the basic Marian songs that I love. It was a day full of contemplating the mystery of Mary as the chosen Mother of God. She is truly the perfect example of faith and trust in God.

I Found God today contemplating Mary the Mother of God.

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Not Hurt Worse

Posted by eph21920 on December 7, 2017 in Family, Grateful, Hurt

My sister called today and sounded very weary. Come to find out, she fell down the stairs at her house a couple of days ago. She tripped on the second to the last step and landed flat out, skidding on the concrete floor. She did go to the doctor and get checked out and although she is pretty banged up, thankfully there are no serious injuries. This gave me a flashback to when my other sister fell down the stairs and broke her leg, leaving her with months of recovery and rehab. My parents and I were very upset to hear about my sister’s fall. But, the more I thought about it, the more grateful I was that she wasn’t hurt worse.

I Found God today grateful that my sister’s injuries were not worse.

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Real Time Joy

Posted by eph21920 on December 6, 2017 in Birthday, Connected, Family, Joy

Today is my oldest grandson’s birthday and we were able to video chat for a while this evening. We sent him a package and he waited to open it until we were connected. It was fun to watch him open the gift and see his reaction in real time. After a while my younger grandson who was in control of the electronic device went outside so he could show us the Christmas lights that they put up. My granddaughter who is 2 told us that she was sick today and seemed very concerned when I told her that her uncle is also sick.  But we made sure she knew he would be OK. It it just such a joy to talk and see the family. Time goes by quick and I feel more connected with their lives this way.

I Found God today seeing and talking with my far away family.

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Christmas Music Back On

Posted by eph21920 on December 5, 2017 in Advent, Joy, Music

We haven’t seen my mom’s piano buddy for quite a few weeks as she had a lot of things happening. She came over today and we all got caught up on the family events. After a while, she and my mom got out some Christmas music and started playing. She also brought over some easier books so perhaps I will be able to work something up with my mom too. Later in the afternoon, my dad found some Christmas CD’s so we listened to them and did our best to sing along. I love hearing, playing, and singing Christmas music, but don’t like to start too early. My mom’s friend got it kicked off and am looking forward to enjoying it for the next couple of weeks.

I Found God today beginning to enjoy Christmas music.

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