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Saturday, April 28, 2012

A Mother's Love Never Dies


  • inspired by the song "All that love from here" by Wynonna Judd 



Robert’s mother, Sarah, had died five years ago.  They, as well as the rest of the family had always been very close.

“As long as I have a place to live, you have a place to live,” his mother once said to him when he was falling on hard times.



He had graduated from college, but could not find work.  He majored in finance in college; however, because of the sputtering economy and the woes of the housing market, he could not find work.  He settled for a job as manager at a local McDonald’s.  The meager income that he received in a job not measuring up to his skill level barely kept him afloat.  Thus, he lived at home until he could find work matching his abilities.

He awoke every morning at a home that seemed to be much too constrictive for his needs.  He had to be to work 6 days a week.  Usually he opened the store himself while his employees sifted in over the next hour or two.

It was problematic working with such a young group of employees.  Although he was no more than seven years older than most of them, the complexities of having such a staff interfered with the social opportunities of work.  He had other co-workers who were his superiors in the company hierarchy; however, more often than not he worked closely with a group of high school students and those in their late teens.

When his mom had died a few years back, it was a very emotional time for his family.  His brother, George, and his sister, Emily, both flew in from halfway across the country to attend the funeral and the wake.

“Mom always had it hard,” his sister Emily said to her brother Robert before the funeral was to begin. 

Throughout the wake, they enjoyed coffee and each other’s company to celebrate a life.  Emily and George’s kids flew in with their parents across the country, but they were unable to understand the event which centered on a grandmother they never got the opportunity to know.  Robert was still living close to his mother when she passed away and had been in charge of the painful funeral arrangements.

At the funeral, all of Sarah’s children had cried.  However, there were no loud outbursts; instead, they cried in a silent and dignified manner attempting to max their emotions which were very strong.

After her divorce, their mother had moved back to Washington State where her brother and sister lived.  Seattle was close enough to most of them and she used it has an opportunity for personal reflection.  However difficult the divorce was, her family members offered the emotional support she needed to recover.

Today, five years after the funeral, Robert visited his mother’s grave to place flowers.  Every year he took the time as an opportunity to commemorate his mother’s life.  The tears no longer flowed, but his eyes would still get misty. 


Standing there next to her grave, Robert could finally sense the completion of his mother’s life.  He knew that she was in heaven praying for him as he prayed for her.  Death is transitory and it does no good to weep in sorrow for those who are now gone.  It was not only the love for her that remained strong, but also the sense that her love for him remained strong.

1 comment:

Vashtiqvega43 said...

Very touching! Thank you!