It was my son JR’s 8th birthday party; we had invited friends in church.
The first guest who arrived was Monette, who at 10 was so independent she came alone in a tricycle. Like a gut reaction, I prayed silently and ardently right on the sidewalk when I saw her radiant face, “Please, Lord, give Monette’s mom just a few more years. Monette is too young to lose a mother.”
Monette’s mom was just diagnosed with breast cancer—at a time when survival rate was low.
The image of that sidewalk encounter is still vivid after 20 years. God gave Monette’s mom all the important years to watch her child blossom into a teen-ager, and then a fine career lady. She was as radiant as Monette on her wedding day. And now Monette awaits the birth of her first child.
On God’s schedule, Monette’s mom left this earth last week and we, her friends in church, although we mourn her passing, are grateful for the abundance of grace that our Maker showered upon her once-threatened life. Her remains will be flown in from Pennsylvania for a two-day wake in our church.
God didn’t give Monette’s mom “just a few more years” as I had begged—but He gifted her with two decades in which she joyfully served Him. Monette’s mom was one of the most passionate students of God’s word I had ever met, and reared her children to love the same God she loved with her life.
My silent prayer 20 years ago was unanswered. The Lord gave Monette’s mom much, much more than I bargained for.
Grace is not for us to decide how much of it should be given our dearest friends. For it is only the Giver who decides, not on our terms, but on His. And how He delights us each time.
Monette’s mom—she saw Monette grow up into the almost-mom that her lovely daughter has become. And now, she is where pain is absent, and where grace comes in bundles of joy for her to relish, forever and ever.
What a blessed life Monette's mom (my dearest friend, Mila) had!
(Photo shows Monette and her mom)
The image of that sidewalk encounter is still vivid after 20 years. God gave Monette’s mom all the important years to watch her child blossom into a teen-ager, and then a fine career lady. She was as radiant as Monette on her wedding day. And now Monette awaits the birth of her first child.
On God’s schedule, Monette’s mom left this earth last week and we, her friends in church, although we mourn her passing, are grateful for the abundance of grace that our Maker showered upon her once-threatened life. Her remains will be flown in from Pennsylvania for a two-day wake in our church.
God didn’t give Monette’s mom “just a few more years” as I had begged—but He gifted her with two decades in which she joyfully served Him. Monette’s mom was one of the most passionate students of God’s word I had ever met, and reared her children to love the same God she loved with her life.
My silent prayer 20 years ago was unanswered. The Lord gave Monette’s mom much, much more than I bargained for.
Grace is not for us to decide how much of it should be given our dearest friends. For it is only the Giver who decides, not on our terms, but on His. And how He delights us each time.
Monette’s mom—she saw Monette grow up into the almost-mom that her lovely daughter has become. And now, she is where pain is absent, and where grace comes in bundles of joy for her to relish, forever and ever.
What a blessed life Monette's mom (my dearest friend, Mila) had!
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