A Whole Lotta Life...

In the next several days there's going to be a whole lotta life happening in and around our "village"--a neighbor's oldest son is getting married, other neighbors' first-born will deploy to Afghanistan, my brother & his wife will head to Jamaica to continue their Young Life work with girls' orphanages, Alexandra will lead at a Young Life middle school camp AND our Rebecca will leave to be on a Young Life workcrew in Eleuthera, Bahamas for 8 days.

I'm pretty sure they won't be on the Club Med side of the island--they're bringing Young Life camp not to well-off tourists but to teens who live on the island, teens who maybe have never even been off the island--teens who have probably never heard of Young Life. So Rebecca is a part of a group who will be bringing YL camp to them--complete with all the wonderful wackiness that defines YL camp--that makes it the "best week" of a teen's life! Games and songs and skits and great food and laughing and talks about this God who created their beautiful island, who sees their lives and loved them enough to send His very own Son to be among us. The workcrew kids are high schoolers  who have experienced for themselves the wonder of a week at a Young Life camp and because it so impacted them they decide to give a week of their summer back to Jesus and these campers. It is faith hard at work! Rebecca will helping to do "program"--something that is probably woven in her DNA, since she first watched her Uncle Patrick do it better than anybody when she was 18 months old @ Trail West family camp in Colorado! "Program" is games and songs and skits--she will be terrific--maybe she will sing like she did last night?

This is what I know--she will be about her Father's business. Remember what Jesus told his parents when they were upset that he had stayed behind in the temple? He said "Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” Luke 2:49 (NKJV) Those young people getting married, and the young man going to Afghanistan, and all who are serving with Young Life and our sweet Rebecca will all be about His business--loving, serving, protecting, showing others what Jesus with-skin-on looks like, sounds like, acts like.

Godspeed, sojourners, Godspeed Rebecca...

We are thankful for your lives, we are praying for you.

 



The Last Time I Saw Her...

Thirteen years--that's how long it's been. Thirteen years ago today, on the 15th of May, 2001, I saw my mother for the last time. She had been diagnosed with a glioblastoma--a nasty, aggressive brain tumor 5 months earlier. She had surgery in February to "de-bulk" the tumor, valiantly refused radiation when she knew it would only prolong her life but not improve its quality. She allowed us to bring in Hospice--they cared for her, for us for nearly 3 months. Between me, Patrick & Mary & Kathleen--one of us was always at the house with her and my father. The cruelest blow was that this tumor stole her speech away--in the last weeks she was unable to speak. Immediately after the surgery, we tried to do some speech therapy, the last good belly laugh we had together was working with flash cards. But by this day, she was silent--her eyes, those pretty blue eyes--just looked piercingly at you, straight to your heart.

It was time for me to go home to Williamsburg. Michael had brought the girls up on Mother's Day--2 days earlier that year--they were 4 & 5--and they said good-bye to her. We knew, Hospice had told us, that she was nearing the end of this battle. And so, late in the afternoon on that warm, sunny afternoon we sat on our back patio together.  I told her it was time for me to go. I took her hands and I told her that I loved her and then I said, "I think there are some things you would like to tell me so I will say them. I think you would tell me that you love me, that you are proud of me. That you are happy that I married Michael, that he is a good husband and father. You would tell me that I am a good mom and that you love those little girls." She looked at me--her eyes said "Yes!" I hugged and kissed her and said good bye.  I drove away crying and begging God to heal her. And He did--2 days later with my brother and father nearby, she died. I think of her so often and miss her and this time of year I remember those blue eyes looking at me for the last time.