A Beautiful Experience

I took the day off work today and went with my sister Valerie (#3) and my Mom to visit my Aunt Rosemary.  I hope she doesn't mind me saying this, but the doctor's have not given her long to live and to be quite honest, while I truly wanted to go see her, my heart and my mind were struggling.  I don't think I'm all that different from most people in that "cancer", "sickness", "death" are all words that scare me.  I struggle with knowing what to say and how to act.  I also don't want to fall apart. (Because I'm pretty much a big ball of emotions anyway.)

Aunts Rosemary and Karen, and Mom

Aunt Rosemary and Mom (or is that Allison and me?)

A family friend, Mom, and Aunt Ro

This is my mom's sister.  Whom she dearly loves. They're only 13 months apart. They have been close all their lives.  It is a chapter I don't really want to walk through.  I don't want my cousins to have to walk through it.  I don't want my Mom and her siblings to have to walk through it.  No one wants to.

But, I'm so glad I went today.  Like the last time I went to see my Aunt, I came away blessed.  She was so at peace and so happy, even though she is SO sick.  I heard her and my mom talking about all the company she has been having lately and she said, "Yes, and I'm loving every minute of it!"  And you could tell she meant it.  She followed that by saying, "It's as if God has given me a great gift to be able to feel well enough to enjoy having my family home."  All her children were home at one time last week to spend time with her.

My mother always told me that when she was with her father as he was dying, she saw God at work through it all.  She describes it as "a beautiful experience".  My grandfather loved the Lord and was ready to go home to Him and to his beloved wife who had passed away 6 months before him.

I can see the hand of God in my Aunt's journey.  I see how real He is to her.  I am so grateful that He is sustaining her and giving her strength and courage to face her difficult and pain-filled road.

I truly admire you, Aunt Rosemary.  I am so blessed by your spirit and your beautiful testimony.

This verse keeps coming back to me this week.  I wrote about it in my last post.  And the Preacher posted on it today.  It reminds me of you, Aunt Rosemary.

"For I know that my Redeemer lives,
      And He shall stand at last on the earth;

And after my skin is destroyed, this I know,
      That in my flesh I shall see God,

Whom I shall see for myself,
      And my eyes shall behold.."