My wife's mother died yesterday. We as a family are seeking, with God's help, to be supportive of one another.
Speaking for myself as her son-in-law, It's kind of hard to believe that this person, who has been a part of my life for over twenty-five years, has gone. Or, I should say, gone away -- gone away to heaven.
Roma had a very strong faith, a very dutiful faith. She rarely missed a Sunday of public worship. She enjoyed everything about worship: the preaching of the Word of God, singing, the liturgy, and communion. She seemed to find solace in her faith-life, her life in Christ, in times of turmoil and grief, such as when she lost her first husband, Ronald, from lung cancer. She once told me that, when she returned from the hospital after Ronald's death, she sat in a big, comfy chair at home and felt like she would never leave it, she felt so weak. But she relied on God at that moment. She mourned and cried and slept away her grief in that big chair.
And then she moved on.
She was never anyone's fool -- not if she could help it. She did not like to waste on fool's errands any of the money or resources God had given her. That would be a waste of God's benificence. On that score, I would think she would like it when Jesus said once, "Do not throw your pearls before swine." (Matthew 7:6) She was often quite perceptive about the underlying selfish motives people had for doing things. She was concerned that the world was ignoring the concept of "sin."
I was never comfortable calling her mother or mom -- I already had one. Yet there was no doubt that, over the many years, she became a kind of a mother to me, and I am grateful for it. She helped to take care of Diane and me and the whole family. Above all, she gave our family a great example in being totally devoted to the mission of the church, and the hope of salvation. Following Luther, there was never any question in Roma's mind about life after death. One day, through God's grace, she knew that she would go to God in His heaven, and see again her parents, her first husband, her daughter, and other loved ones, and, through Christ, that she would be waiting for us.
She just knew it. There was never any question. Nor, for the rest of us, is there one now. That is the legacy of the faith of a Mother.
David Hewitt
