In yesterday’s post, I shared half of the list my mother gave me, entitled “Things I Learned from Cancer”. This post contains the second half of her list. She was treated for ovarian cancer between 2011 – 2012. She prayed that God would use her to glorify Him, that she wouldn’t let Him down. We all prayed that for her too.
She is doing very well now. Still, each check up has me holding my breath, and then remembering that her life is owned by the Lord.
Oh well, anyway, here is what Mommasaid (Part 2):
- Life as we know it will end, but then we go to heaven to be with the Lord and all the saints. Now I don’t fear dying and am even comforted by the fact that there is a place prepared for me in heaven so I can someday be with Jesus for eternity.
- I firmly believe that my name is written in the Book of Life and beside my name is the exact time He will bring me home. God is SOVEREIGN, nothing is even close to His power nothing on earth, under the earth, or in heaven is more powerful than our God–Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. Since He is sovereign nothing can make me die before that date in the Book of Life or after that date written.
- I am firmly convinced that God planned for me to be born to my parents, married to my husband of 50 years, and have the progeny that are our daughters and grandchildren until Jesus comes back. He has worked for good throughout my life with the decisions I made, or others made for me, even before I was saved. He leads me every day and loves me to the extreme of giving His Son, His Only Son, so that I could be made righteous and be adopted into His family and be His child.
- I learned to love my husband and appreciate him in a way that only the Lord can bring about. Early, while I was still in the hospital following surgery, we realized we must live each day to the fullest. We didn’t and still don’t know how long we have, but we want to grow in the Lord and do His will, and bring Him glory every day. He has given us love for each other and for others that is amazing. As we have grown closer to Him during this time we have grown closer to each other. My husband was a tremendous caregiver. He spent so much time with me, cooked for me, and just blessed me. We pray more now and study the bible more and just enjoy life.
- I have learned to be willing to do things differently than I am used to doing. This allows me to live freer and not be restricted just to what I want. I have learned that I am extremely self-centered. That was an embarrassing, shameful revelation.The Lord was gentle, but the facts were there for me to see.
- Cancer has changed my life for the better. My husband and I both think it has been a blessing for us.
My mother has always devoted her time to serving the Lord and others. She has spent many years meeting with others in prayer weekly. For a few years, she, and her team of other volunteers, cooked for her whole church on a weekly basis. She has been in charge of organizing food for those in crisis. She has visited sick people in hospitals and elderly people in nursing homes (some that she adopted, as well as some that we were related to). She responded to the Lord’s call by organizing and implementing a ministry to an impoverished public school and its teachers after Hurricane Katrina.
Nowadays, she has a regular gig visiting the cancer ward where she was treated not too long ago. My mother is a bit of an introvert, but the Lord has her walking into the rooms of complete strangers and praying with them. She is also praying about starting up a new ministry for the women in her church.
We hear a lot these days about the Proverbs 31 Woman, and sometimes it feels like you have to be the one who has it all together to be that kind of woman. My mom can start several projects before getting one finished. She lets my dad do a lot of the cooking at home. And I am sure that today, somewhere in her house, she has piles of laundry waiting to be folded. But this is a woman who loves the Lord with all her heart and she is humble enough to keep growing in His wisdom, every day.
Her children rise up and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:
“Many women have done excellently,
but you surpass them all.”
Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,
but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
Proverbs 31:28-30
Oh, Britta! Your mother is such a God fearing and wise woman. I see where you get it from! Thank you for sharing your mom with us! I think you should give us some more of the mamasaid wisdom at least once a month! 🙂
I know! She is pretty humble too so wisdom and humility make a great combo! It is a blessing. She journals a lot…maybe I can convince. But she can’t figure out how to make a comment on a post…not much of a techie! Hahaha! 😉
What a sweet , God~fearing woman. I can feel your love and compassion for her. That is a heart string we are touched by all of our lives…mom-daughter. I must admit that I can relate to that laundry pile still lingering….smile. What she does focus on, however, seems so much more worthy. She must touch a lot of lives. Thank you, Britta, for sharing your heart. I am glad she is cancer-free.
Thank you Tracy! I pray daily for the Lord to give us back the years the locusts have taken…having been away from “home” for so many years makes me long to spend more time with her. 🙂 But I am so very thankful for your friendship and so many others here…it is like family!