So my mother died. Wow.One year ago, she found out she had stage four ovarian cancer. It was a rough battle, one that I could barely handle. Many of my posts in the last year were inspired by the depths of the pain I felt during her illness. Only one person could have brought me through all that...God.
My mother was a Christian for the last 44 years of her life. She served God faithfully throughout that time, never looking back. Everybody who knew her, knew of her dedication to Christ. It was easy to love her as she had the heart and attitude of one called to serve. She was a mother to all my friends and countless others. Some even called her mommy too. I remember inviting friends over to hang out or sleep over and their breakfast/lunch/dinner would be brought to them in my room whilst I had to go in search of mine in the kitchen.
She was one of the most self-less people I knew. I remember when I was still a teen, there were two young boys who moved into our neighbourhood. We're a small island and an even smaller community so almost nothing goes unnoticed. Those two boys were under privileged at best. Within weeks they were left on their own by a mother who went off to a different island seeking work. For six months, those boys were on their own. They had no food and no money. The older of the two was no more than 12 years old at the time. But those boys didn't starve. Not whilst my mother was on watch. There was no way she would allow that to happen. I remember her waking early every morning to prepare breakfast for them. I remember her adding items to our grocery list just for them; we weren't rich and money was always tight but on the meager amount of money that she had she would find a way.
Things like that helped shape me. I didn't understand her drive or her desire to help others at the time, but I knew that she was something special. She didn't have a college degree or even a secondary school education, but she did what she could to change the world and her efforts were not in vain. Several years later, the older of the two boys met me in a store and couldn't stop thanking me on behalf of my mother. He was all grown up, gainfully employed and a contributor to society. Only God knows what would have happened to that boy had my mother not stepped in.
Years later, I saw her kind heart in action again with another neighbour, this time an older woman near the end of her life. This lady had two children, a boy and a girl, however none of them were around to help her. She was getting older and weaker and unable to even feed herself. So my mother stepped in. For a period of about two years my mother bathed and fed this lady. Again, from her own money, she would buy food, medicine, adult diapers and pay the utilities at the house until the lady passed.
Just before she died, I visited her and she was rather weak. Now, she was the one who needed to be bathed, fed and changed. Somehow though, she couldn't bare the thought. She said something that really struck me, she said "The very same thing I did for Ms. G , somebody now has to do for me".
In that one sentence, I learned the lesson of a lifetime. You NEVER know where life will take you. One year ago my mother was a plump 62 year old rocking her senior years. She had better fashion sense than me and probably had more fun than me too. By the time she passed away, at age 63, she was completely emaciated; the cancer had sucked the life out of her. She went from strong and vibrant, to frail and helpless in almost no time at all. None of us are invincible. Nor are we immortal. My mother lived a very simple life and she lived it with a very kind heart. She worked hard and took care of her six children the best way she knew how. Even to her death, she was more worried about us than about her own self.
So today, I've learned the lesson that my mother obviously understood. In Matthew 22, Jesus gave two commandments, love the Lord thy God with all your heart and love your neighbour as you love yourself. Mom followed both those commandments till the day she died, and I will too.
Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:37- 40
Joana James - Author of From Redemption to Maturity, Trusting God with your Future, Nightmare at Emerald High & Alana and Alyssa's Secret & Finding Romeo
