Today is my mother’s birthday. She is gone from this earth, but not from our hearts. Today she would have been 100. For almost 30 years, I have remembered her birthday without being able to tell her “Happy Birthday” in person. In reality, the important people in our life never really leave.
My mother had a stroke in 1991. That changed her life — and mine. I never went home again as a care receiver — always as a caregiver. There was always something that needed doing around the house or yard, and I gladly pitched in to do whatever needed to be done. Two years later, my mother and stepfather deceased in an automobile accident on Thanksgiving Day 1993. Had God asked me, I would not have chosen that path. But now I see clearly the ways he has worked for good.
Without the accident, I think we would never have moved to Ohio Valley University to assist with the things of the kingdom there. At OVU, we found expanded involvement in mission work around the world. Our interest and opportunities in mission work and kingdom work have carried us to many places around the world, here and there, longer times and shorter, sometimes inside (but often outside) our comfort zone.
The opportunity to reflect upon this aspect of my life has been a great strength and buoy for my faith [but that is another story for another day]. I observe my peers, many of whom are in the “sandwich generation” — concerned both with parents and children or grandchildren. God opened a unique door for us; God works all things together for good! Praise Him!