FROM HERE TO ETERNITY

"I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end." Ecclesiastes 3:10, 11

As most journeys go, you have to start somewhere, right? From “In the beginning” to “Once upon a time,” plot and peril, cliffhanger and climax awaits the traveler’s next step. With a story to reveal and some quest in which to stand triumphant or suffer defeat, our eternity gets written in the here and now. We choose whether it becomes “Happily ever after” or tragically “The end” by the life we live and the One with whom we choose to live it through the perils and in the triumphs.

I stumbled upon this observation recently when, within the course of one week, two mothers passed away. This introspection examines the end of one mother’s life and the creation of her daughter’s story.

Only 48 years young, I never got to know Barb personally; however, my son attends a small school and has joined his classmates in consoling her teenage daughter. For you see, as a mother unexpectedly bided farewell during the night, a daughter marked the beginning of her unanticipated sojourn with precious memories hoping to direct her future steps without her. However, those memories will act as short-term beacons as she navigates through growing challenges. “What would mom do or think in this situation?” will warrant sorrow, anger and maybe even more grief when mom isn’t there to comfort the broken heart of a first love unrequited or discuss life choices or cherish the first screams of a grandchild’s new life.

This daughter will need help from people along the way, never to replace the memories, but to encourage her to live her life fully through the legacy her mother left behind. No one will ever replace her mother’s love, but I believe love comes in all shapes and forms. In fact:

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Loves does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. (1 Corinthians 13:4-8a)

As one mother who loves her son unconditionally, I offer this prayer to Katie (and her sister, Rachael). I also extend it to daughters everywhere who are creating their eternity story without their moms:

May you always cherish your mother’s sage advice even when it was difficult in the growing years to hear what she had to say. May you remember her goal was never to be the perfect mom, but to raise the best daughters in a less-than perfect world. May you be reminded that she will always be there in spirit to cheer you on through every life’s milestones because of the wonderful foundation laid in your beautiful birth. And when the journey finds you frustrated and sorrowful over not having her physical presence around to tackle life’s plots and perils, know that you are not alone. Truth has never been an easy companion, but it will never lead you astray. Hang on to the memories and take truth by the hand. They will lead you from here to eternity. Amen.