Last time I blogged here (July 24th), I told the story of writing a letter to the editor when I was twelve years old. If you haven’t read that blog yet, please go here and read it before you read today’s blog, which tells the “rest of the story."Years passed, and I completely forgot about my letter to the editor. For some reason I hadn’t even saved a copy of it, or if I had, I lost it along the way.
Flash forward to 1998.
My mother, now in her late 80's, was living in a nursing home. Multi-infarct dementia (loss of memory from a series of small strokes) had taken a toll and she had recently lost a few items, including a diamond necklace she had worn for years. I was concerned she might lose something that was important, such as her birth certificate. So one day while she was sleeping, I went through her purse to see if there was anything in it that needed to be put in a safe place.
In the back of her wallet was a small section for cards and photos, so I carefully took out the items: a few pictures, some cards, mostly expired, and, tucked away behind one of the pictures, a newspaper clipping.
I expected to find an obituary, either that of my father, who had died in 1992, or another relative. Instead, folded and yellowed, I found my letter to the editor. Across the top was written, in my mother’s handwriting, “
She must have had that clipping for almost 40 years, and yet she'd never said one word about it to me!
I'll never know if it played a role in her life, but I do know that after years of being puzzled and somewhat disparaging about my faith, she made a commitment to God after she had a slight heart attack when she was in her seventies, and that she affirmed it before her death in January of 2000.
Finding that clipping in my mother’s purse reminded me that if our desire is to serve God, and we obey the promptings in our heart, no matter how crazy they might seem, he will ensure that they aren’t wasted.
N. J. Lindquist
1 comment:
WOW!
I don't know why, but you just made me cry.
God bless.
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