November 5, 2012
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programs and angels.
There are friends you do not see for years… but somehow the connection is still there. Way back in the day, my family had started a Spanish Church with a small group of dedicated couples, including the Quiet Man and his Wife. We had not seen them for nearly 10 years.
—
It came out of the blue.
“You have Stage 4 cancer… You have less than 6 months to live.”
The Quiet Man took a deep breath. He was a Man of his Word, faithful, quietly working wherever needed.
He left everything ready — Youngest Son’s college paid for, wrote a Love Letter to the Wife, made the Oldest Son promise to follow God all his days.
He fought all the way, but then came the day when he slipped away to see his Jesus. “Rejoice for me,” he said.
The Brave Mommy was there that day, too, singing with the Wife, praising the Jesus he was soon to see.
The Brave Mommy told me about it later… about how she thought she would be afraid, but there was such a peace and holy joy.
¿Dónde está, oh muerte, tu aguijón? ¿Dónde, oh sepulcro, tu victoria?<sup class="crossreference" value='(A)’> I Cor. 15:55
Much had been prepared, but still so much to do.
The Wife was no stranger to sorrow… Both of her parents had died less than a year ago, one in Latin America and one here in the US while visiting her, about a month apart. Her faith did not waver, but sometimes… the steps were hard to take.
“We need programs for the service,” she told the Youngest Son.
“It’s ok, Mom… God will send Guardian Angels to help us.”
Then phone rang.
It was my Mom. She had not been in touch with the Wife for 10 years, but that didn’t seem to matter.
“Patti — What do you need?”
“Programs… Can you make programs?”
And my dear dear Mom, who barely knows how to check her Gmail, didn’t skip a beat.
“Yes. Of course. Who has the Order of Service?”
It took about 6 of us chipping at various points to figure out Word, formatting, wording, pictures, with coaching both in person and over the phone,
but all that matters is that they were done on time.
Saving the world… Looks different every day. You just have to be willing.
