Rose`s house sits just as we left it the day that 911 attendants rolled her out the front door. The wheel chair, the chariot of her farewell ride from her bedroom to living room, empty! A chariot that she resisted as long as possible, the nurse in her knowing that surrendering to it`s comfort would lead her to dependency and physical decline. A house once warm with love and compassion now barren empty lifeless, as if eagerly awaiting her return.
As I reflect on the last months of Rose`s life, I believe that denial prevented me from processing, what I knew that I knew. Slowly but surely, day by day I was loosing a precious gift from God, a mentor, a true friend and second mother that loved me and all of my faults, unconditionally. I thank God for the blessing of free time and for allowing me to spend so much quality time with Rose, no regrets! Now, pain sorrow and grief, but in due time this too shall pass, to be replaced with precious memories of her love. Once I got the water-works under control, a gentle peace filled my soul.
In a visit last week, one of Rose`s nieces by marriage, suggested that I should have Rose`s Catholic study bible. A gift that I graciously and eagerly received. In the process of helping to plan Rose`s funeral service, I learned that the Catholic bible has a Book of Wisdom; why in the world would that not be included in all Bibles? Are Catholics the only one privy to wisdom? I want wisdom!
In the warmth of the afternoon sun I began to explore The Book of Wisdom, which was written a hundred years before the coming of Christ. Its author, whose name is not known to us, was a member of the Jewish community at Alexandria, in Egypt. Written in Greek, in a style patterned on that of Hebrew verse. He speaks in the person of Solomon, placing his teachings on the lips of wise kings of Hebrew tradition in order to emphasize their value. Profound knowledge of the earlier Old Testament writings is reflected in almost every line of the book, marking him as an outstanding representative of religious devotion and learning among the sages of post-exilic Judaism. I was mesmerized, as The Book of Wisdom consumed the time that I should have been weeding flower beds. Weeds are God beautiful creatures and have a right to exist, right! I`m sure you`ll be hearing more from the Book of Wisdom, thanks Rose!
As I thumbed through papers gently stashed in Rose`s Bible I found another treasury worthy on sharing: Healing Corner----The Empty Chair----A man`s daughter had asked her pastor to come and pray with her dad. When he arrived, he found the man lying in bed, with his head propped up on two pillows and an empty chair beside his bed. Assuming the old fellow had been informed of his visit, he said, "I guess you were expecting me." "No, who are you?" asked the man. "I`m the new pastor here in town," he said, "and when I saw the chair, I figured you were expecting me."
"O yeah, the chair, "said the bedridden man. "Would you mind closing the door?" Puzzled, the pastor shut the door. "I`ve never told anyone , even my daughter, "said the man, "but I`ve never known how to pray. All the talk at church always went right over my head. finally, I abandoned any attempt at prayer until a friend talked to me about four years ago.
"Joe," he said, "prayer is a simple matter of having a talk with Jesus. Put an empty chair next to you and picture the LORD. It`s not spooky, because He said He`d be with us always. Just speak to Him and listen to Him as you`re doing right now with me." " So I tried it," he continued, "and I like it so much that I do it a couple of hours every day. I`m careful though. If my daughter saw me talking to an empty chair, she`d send me off to the funny farm."
The pastor was deeply moved by the story and encouraged the man to continue on the journey. Then he prayed with the man and left. Two nights later, the daughter called to say her dad had died that afternoon. "Did he seem to go in peace?" asked the pastor. "Yes, When I left the house around two O`clock, he called me to his bedside, told me one of his corny jokes, and kissed me on the cheek.
When I came home from the store about an hour later, I found him dead. But there was something strange. Apparently, just before Daddy died, he leaned over and rested his head on the chair beside the bed."
Thank you Rose, what a joy to find and share this with the readers of God`s blog, Did Rose teach me to pray, no but she taught me a lot about LOVE! AMEN........
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