Haven't seen mom yet. Can't go see her until 11:00. I will update you all again later. I just wanted to share this message with you as the day begins. I know that some of you will receive or have received this already in a card...but here it is again. Have a blessed day!
…as it is written:
"No eye has seen,
no ear has heard,
no mind has conceived
what God has prepared for those who love him" 1 Corinthians 2:9
Each and every day of the year, God beckons us to enter His Covenant of love. This Covenant is a blood covenant of love (think about it, that which constitutes the essence of life force is in the blood—oxygen, nutrients…). Historically, blood covenants were the most legally binding covenants of all covenants. They are an exchange between the two parties partaking in them, and serve as a symbol of permanent connection and commitment. A blood covenant means, “I give you my life in exchange for yours.” Such an exchange reflects the fact that everything about, and part of, one’s life becomes part of the other’s. This includes all rights, authority, power, and domains. When, and if, we enter into a covenant with the Lord, we are inheriting all that is His. We have the potential to walk in all that He is. We have the ability and the authority to overcome all that life throws at us. Once we are part of this Covenant with God, we become heirs to His Kingdom…to all that He has for us. And oh, we can’t even begin to imagine all that the Lord has in store for us. God prepares such wonders for each of us that we can’t even conceive of what these wonders are. Some of these wonders are wonders that we will see in the life hereafter. Others of these wonders are wonders that are here for us now, if only we take the time to look for them, and have the perspective to see them. Some people look at the condition of the world, or of their circumstances and ask, “Why do bad things happen in this world?” or “How could God allow this to happen to me?” Life just happens. Part of life involves bad things, and part of living is also dying. But God is with us always as is demonstrated through the birth of Jesus…to provide a way to sustain us despite the circumstances…to show us the way above it all.
Last June, our family’s world changed drastically when my mom suffered from a burst aneurysm and then a stroke. She was in a coma for 3 months following. We have been working diligently, against, and despite, the medical system, to rehabilitate her these last 3 months since. It has been quite the journey. It has been a time of tears, fears, pain and sorrow certainly; but it also has been a time of wonder as well. When I take the time to reflect and rest, to be still with God, it always amazes me to find how much the events of what happened to mom have been translated into daily wonders as we go along the journey of this new chapter in our book of life. When I can get the right perspective, and stop focusing on myself and focus on her, there I find the wonder. Our family has pulled together – young and old – one and all – in so many remarkable ways, to lean on each other and to help rehabilitate mom. Wonder. I have had the honor of ministering to and caring for mom, the remarkable woman who gave herself to me and all of our family for so long. Wonder. Then, there was the day back in mid June, where my aunt (mom’s best friend) and Claudia and our cousin and I were all gathered around mom (she was in the coma then) talking to her, combing her hair, filing her nails, washing her face, when a nurse walked in on this scene and said, “Oh, you all are ‘the girls,’ aren’t you?” Wonder. There was the day Claudia and I sat on either side of mom in the recreation room singing “oldies” while each one of us held one of her hands and “chair danced with her.” Wonder. There are the quiet, still moments as we sit by mom’s bedside and hold her hand in the early dawn or late in the evening, when the world, for that moment in time consists of just mom and one of us. Wonder. There was mom’s last birthday when we all gathered to her room at the same time, quite unexpectedly, and sang her favorite hymns and celebrated the day with her even though she was still in the coma. Wonder. There was also the time when we arrived one morning and read a new entry in her bedside book, “Love Notes for Dotty” and found the most poignant note from her night nurse who wrote about how she stands in mom’s room and reads all the signs and verses on the walls, and wrote, “I believe in miracles too Dotty.” Wonder. There was the first time she opened her eyes and spoke out loud to me last September when she woke from the coma…how beautiful her voice was. Wonder. There are the times when one of the choir members, a young girl, from mom’s church, came to stand at her bedside and sing her favorite hymns to her as she slept in the coma. Or the time the entire choir came to sing to her…portable keyboard and all. Wonder. There was the time when mom first gave us a kiss when we left and kissed her goodbye. Wonder. There was the time when I had the privilege of watching dad demonstrate courage and commitment and compassion even in the face of his own problems when he walked through a crowd of doctors and nurses at the facility to go and sit with a friend in the next room who had just lost her spouse that night as we all helplessly sat by and watched and prayed. Wonder. There are the times we rush in to care for and spend time with her right before or after work or school, and find her smiling at us now as we arrive. Wonder. There are the tender times when it’s just one of us with mom, hugging her or holding her close…loving her in her full presence and attention. Wonder. There are the times when I have the honor and privilege to be in the presence of my nieces and nephews and son as they lovingly, tenderly and carefully tend to their beloved “Nonny’s” needs…this is such a sacred and holy thing to witness. Wonder. There are the days when I arrive in mom’s room and find her girlfriends sitting in a circle around her chatting with her like nothing ever happened. Wonder. There is the change in the affect of so many of the staff members where mom is, from grouchy, cranky, rushed individuals to those who also refer to her as, “Nonny” now. Wonder. Then there was the day recently when one of the CNAs asked permission to give our name to another family whose loved one is now in the same condition mom was in just a few short months ago so that we could help them recover their loved one too. Wonder. There was the day mom first lifted her legs after 5 months of stillness. Wonder. Or the day I stood beside her as she breathed her first breath without the assistance of the vent (I couldn’t help but think about the fact that she was there when I drew in my first breath and now years later, I am there to witness the same in her). Wonder. To be able to know how to sit still and just “be” with a loved one is a wonder. Every day we are able to watch as family, friends and loved ones gather around us all to comfort us, support us, visit with mom from all over the country. Wonder. We are, and have been, so blessed, even in this time of need…and perhaps, this is the biggest wonder.
What God has in store for us in the realm of wonder is not always what we think it will or should be…but it constitutes a wonder-filled event just the same. We never know each day as we live through it, how our lives may bear witness to wonders of the love of the Lord. I have learned that sometimes all it takes is a shift of the lens through which we view the current circumstances in order to find the wonder. It is during a time of wonder that Emanuel came…and God was with us at last.
May your holidays be blessed with family, friends, loved ones…and yes, with the wonders of the Lord. For eye has not seen nor ear has heard or mind conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him. Rest assured in the knowledge of this fact this season and let God’s wonders unfold in your life each day. Peace and Be Well ~ Kathy and Lenny (mom’s blog = http://dottysupdates-kgranelli.blogspot.com
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