The Passing of Mom

On February 23, 2007, Sandra Kay Chapman went to be with the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and the Father. She had been battling Multiple Myeloma since 2005 which she faught until the end. But in the end, she had decided that everything had been done, and that all interventions were to be discontinued. Although I wasn't present during her last hours on this earth--I was traveling from D.C to Chicago--it is my understanding that she left this earth peacefully and with grace. Her memory will be lived on through her six children incl 3 children with her husband of 22 years, stepdaughter, an adopted son, and myself, ranging from ages 36 to 15.The memory that stands out the most for me was when I was eleven and she was 6 mths pregnant with my sister. She and her husband took in her nephew whom they raised as a son. Even though those first few months were challenging for all of the family--even I had to do night-time feedings-for me, this spoke to her amazing capacity for compassion, generosity and love for keeping family together. Mom also loved learning and education, and in 2004 she completed her Bachelors' degree, for it had taken her well over 15 years to finished but she did it! Other than Jesus Christ, she is the only person that I would ever want to emulate. And speaking of Jesus Christ, she was not a believer in any kind of religion, nor did she raise us to believe or accept religious teachings. However, I will say that when I was younger and before my siblings had been born, every night she would read to me Psalm 23, and on Sundays I awoke to the sounds of praise and worship music. This leads me to believe that she had been thinking about faith and Jesus Christ but was unsure. And with addition of children, she may have ceased her religious exploration, but I don't know that for a fact. All I know is that my younger siblings did not have these experiences with her as myself, which is regrettable. So when I had excepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, and experience the power of His saving Grace, I so very much desired that she would have faith in Christ as well. Over the past six months, it had been on my heart and daily prayer that she would accept Jesus Christ. It is my understanding from both her husband and sister-in-law who is a Pastor, she had developed a personal relationship with the Father and with Christ during the last month of her life; my soul rejoyced and I wept with such tears of joy. The Bible does teach us that if you have had a lifetime or one moment with the Father, you will have eternal life, and eternal life is the ultimate form of healing when you are a part of the body of Christ. It just goes to show how god gives us many chances to answer the call of faith, and He will use anything and everything to work on our heart and spirit; it was my mother's cancer diagnosis that encouraged me to answer that call back in 2006. So even though my mother will no longer walk through that front door, or call my name, I shall not grieve her departure from the world because I know that we will see each other soon. In the mean time, I will do that which what the Bible teaches, and honor thy mother and thy father, by continuing to live, learn, show compassion to others, be generous in my actions, and have a love for family. Thank you Jesus for the life that you Blessed my mother with, for I know that all things come from you. Amen!!!