GIVING THANKS

'Tis the season....

We celebrated Thanksgiving yesterday.

As I took this snapshot of my the mother of my heart and my Mom, I was reminded that I have much to be thankful for...every day!

My mother-in-law (on the left) and my mom have both recovered from heart problems. My mom lives with Congestive Heart failure and Sally is living with 40% of her heart function following a devastating heart attack two years ago.

Life is fragile.

Just one of the many reasons we must breathe deeply....and enjoy. We miss the blessing of another life...if we don't.

With One Single Life:

With one single phone call a life changes. Lives are changed; hearts join together in one accord; gathering together to hold the heart of one so dear. While fear is imminent, it is not the fear of unfulfilled relationships; it is simply the raw fear of losing one who has selflessly offer the love of a mother.

No regrets of words unsaid, for she ha lived her life, fully loving, with reserved abandon. No despair for things undone, each task has been faithfully extended and lovingly performed. No misgivings of love lost, for when she loves you, you know you are loved!

With one single phone call, children gather to will their mother well. Grandchildren, in-laws, friends, and family would be no where else; their hearts follow it's conviction--they have an innate need to be near the Grandmother who has prayed for them and loved them since before they were born. With one simple phone call, a grandson living states away asks his mom if they could pray over the phone for his Grandma. Prayer is not something he visits offhandedly; his Grandma is important; he is compelled to reach out to the God she seeks daily.

With one singl life, lives are transformed. Not seeking self-indulgence, accolades embarrassing, one single life has blessed generations to come with her steadfast heart and determined spirit. It is in this one life that we have come to know, we too, can make a difference. For I have felt the difference of being loved by this one dear life. When struggles prevailed, this prayer warrior fell to her knees. When delighted, you could count on her joyful glee to light a room up. In the life of her children, her gratitude for unimagined blessings can not be squelched; she readily shares it with anyone near. With a simple good-night, she blesses her children with words of gratitude and pride for who they have become and all they mean to her.

Daughters come to her side and lovingly assure her that all be well. Towering over her frail body, sons tearfully approach her bedside, willing her soaring spirit to somehow, just for a little longer, forge beyond the crisis at hand. As heart monitors offer their steady rhythym, with each beat of her heart a march of thankfulness and hope is offered.

Thankfulness for each and every beat of her heart, and hope that God will allow the cadence of her life to be extended for many years to come. For it is in the life of this dear woman we find...a love...that would be difficult to live without. Yet, we have learned within one single life, that all things are possible when we live, simply, in such profound love.

~10/3/2006