A little more than three years ago I sat in a hospital room in Culpeper with Mom as she battled pneumonia. On her worst day, she continually questioned why God had not taken her, why she was still living. My response was that none of us know when God may take us – in a minute, tomorrow, next week, 10 years. Mom responded with a clear, “Three years. It will be three years.”
She’s never been too far off with her “premonitions” and feelings.
Tonight I sit with her in a room at the same hospital, just across the hall from where we were three years ago. Between her dry coughing and attempts to remove the oxygen from her nose, she dreams. I’m trying to figure out the stories as she mumbles words and phrases. “Upstairs,” “Bring them all in,” and “Thank you, darlin’” are the most clear.
As I watch her struggle with the monitor wires and way too large hospital gown, I wonder who she is seeing in those dreams. And I remember, “Three years. It will be three years.”
Three years ago I ended that blog post with these words:
“As you read this, take a moment and pray NOW. Pray for those in your family who need to feel the love and care of God’s hand. Pray for your friends and neighbors. Pray for your church and community. Pray for our denomination and its leaders. Pray for our country and the world. Pray for the Republican Presidential candidate debate, or for the Nationals to come back up in the MLB standings, or for the end to the wild fires in the West. Pray that every life matters. Pray that the shark attacks off the coast of North Carolina have ended. Just pray. NOW.”
Isn’t it amazing how some things never change and how much other parts of life do? One thing is constant: pray NOW!
Stilll Walking Martha Home 