Bittersweet

Livia wrote the date on our calendar, as a part of our morning school routine.  She accidentally wrote 12 instead of 21.  I thought of my Mom for a second, as she died 6 years earlier on Sept 12th. 

Well, thinking on losing a mother, my mind went to my wonderful friend who was losing her mother to cancer.  The last couple of weeks the diagnoses went from 2-3 months, to 2-3 weeks, and today she told me 2-3 days. 

The kids were making a busy box for Aunt Martha to read in bed, if she was able.  We talked about sickness, death, and of course Heaven.  How Aunt Martha loved God with all her heart and asked Him to be with her forever, years ago.  How God has never left her and wants her to come to heaven soon.  This led Livia to ask lots of questions, such as, "How do you really know if you will go to heaven?"

I answered all the questions while praying for God's words to speak into their young hearts.  Livia said she wanted to ask God into her heart.  George did too, but his answers seemed more like copying his sister still (he is only 4, but seeds are being planted).  We all prayed together (even Ginnie repeating words!) and I spent the afternoon answering random questions about salvation between playing with toys.

Then Marcy called.  Martha was in heaven that very moment.  Ugh.  My heart still breaks for that family.  Shoot.  It breaks for me.  We all loved Martha.  We will miss her terribly.  But there is no doubting the impact she has left, even on our little family.  She treated us like her family.

I will always remember the day my oldest accepted Jesus, and the day Martha went to see Him face to face.  Bittersweet is the only way to describe it.