In March of 2012 I moved back in with my parents. 25 years old and living with your parents is not what I ever expected for myself that is for sure. At the time I was living with friends and God began pressing on my heart the desire to move back home with Mom and Dad. I didn't know why but I knew that it was supposed to happen and so I did.
Immediately after moving back in with them I could see God working in both me and Mom. Our hearts were softening towards each other. We began spending time together. We started talking to each other. We started to actually like each other!
It was interesting how God used something Mom dreaded for years, me wanting to move to Africa, to draw us closer together. God used my dream and Mom's fear to build a strong and loving relationship!!! And when I left in January of 2013 for France our relationship was solid and continued to grow even though we were thousands of miles apart.
For the first time in my life I could feel the overwhelming love of a mother.
The day I left to go back to France after my break Mom updated her facebook status, something she rarely did. It was so encouraging to me that I saved it :)
"After a quick 2 week stay (after being gone
for 10 months) put our baby back on a plane for France this morning. As I
hugged her tight I said sorry that I am crying and her response was "I
would be upset if you were Not" We'll miss her but are proud of all of her
accomplishments. 6 weeks left in France and then off to Mali Africa for 2
years. Not sure my heart can take that much time away. All I can say is Thank
God for Skype!!!!!!!!!!"
This was a gift straight from God... Mom publicly declaring that she was proud of me. She wrote this just 19 days before she died. God did not leave one detail out. Not one!
On Saturday January 11th we buried Mom's ashes. Family and friends gathered at the cemetery to say our final good-byes to Mom. Finally after 8 weeks Mom's physical body (in the forms of ashes) were laid to rest here on earth. As we put the urn in the ground and covered it with dirt I felt a sense of closure. It was very hard but very needed.
My Mom was a decorator. She loved to decorate and create... I got that from her :) As the day of her burial approached I really wanted to get something to put at the grave site. I wandered through Hobby Lobby and found a really pretty large blue flower garden decoration. It was perfect! All I could think of was, Mom's grave has to be pretty! No gloom! Her house was always beautiful and so now her grave has to be too!
I look forward in years to come to visiting her grave and decorating it. I don't know why and maybe that's a bit morbid but there is something healing in it for me...
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| Mom's urn. So beautiful, just like her! |
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| Mom's monument. Dad had the large flower decoration made and one of her dear friends Brenda made the other one! |
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| No gloom here! Mom loved the color blue :) So, blue it is. |
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| My family ~ Dad, me, my sister Kelly and brother-in-law Dylan. |
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| My Grandma Betty died in 1982 of the same thing that took Mom, a brain aneurysm. Grandma is buried in the same cemetery. Grandma's grave is on top of the hill overlooking Mom's grave. |
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