57–One Way to Glory

Ready to Depart

Mom was so completely READY to go home to be with Jesus during that visit in August. For two weeks, I was blessed to be by her side, 24/7 as mentioned last month.

Each morning she would awake, SO surprised that she woke up HERE instead of in heaven with Jesus. She would spend all night with Him so close to her heart, and would almost be disappointed and a bit flummoxed each time her eyes opened to the same room she had been in the night before.

Each day, we would remember His grace in her life, pray, be encouraged by Bible verses and sing hymns together.

Several hymns were especially meaningful to her during those difficult days (over time, hopefully you will find those on my YouTube channel as time permits me to publish them).

One song we had spoken of that she loved over the years (especially because it was always so upbeat) was “I’ll Fly Away”.

When I first arrived there, she seemed to be under the impression that she was ready to “take off” on her eternal flight at any moment. But from my perspective she was probably just about arriving at the terminal and heading over to get her boarding pass.

She was still so lucid and able to communicate with us. Praise the Lord for that, because we could express so much love to each other.

What an incredible gift….

Above the Storms

The timing of all the events over these months has been so very precise that it’s quite ironic to say the least.

The day I flew back from Florida, there were thunder storms surrounding the airport as we took off on our flight.

I was pleasantly surprised that the seat the airline had chosen for me was a really good one (I didn’t want to pay extra to book a good seat, so I left it up to the Lord to determine my steps).

It turned out that the seat was a WINDOW seat, right past the wing (which is always a more comfortable place in terms of keeping turbulence to a minimum). Thank You, Jesus, for that kindness.

I sat there, realizing that the prior days might have been the last time I’d ever see Mom again this side of Glory.

Once we got up to a cruising altitude, the cloud formations were stunning and beautiful, so I grabbed my phone as I sat there in the arms of Jesus as He lifted us above the storms.

It’s common to see pictures of clouds from above, since technology is now so prevalent…

But to actually be PUT into a window seat, flying through and then above storm clouds, with a phone and the ability to RECORD the moment took some planning that was NOT my own….

I’ll Fly Away

After returning to New Jersey, I “happened” to have a couple of gigs with the Oracle Band (one that was about to happen right after last month’s podcast was posted).

For both of those concerts, Mark (Oracle’s leader) had chosen for me to sing/play “I’ll Fly Away” with the band, and after all the recent goings-on it wasn’t clear to me if there could possibly be enough energy to play that one, especially as quickly as I USUALLY play it (“my version” of that song is even more upbeat than the ones that Mom always loved, LOL).

But it was so worth the extra effort to play it regardless of my energy level, because at both concerts I mentioned Mom’s need for prayer, and played it in her honor. Playing it “for her” in this trying time gave that song even MORE meaning than it usually has for me.

The first concert was in Ocean Grove, NJ (one of my favorite places). My hubby was there, and snapped a few photos, but didn’t record it on video at all.

The second concert (a few days after my last podcast) was in Middletown, NJ. My hubby did try to record that one on video, but unfortunately the recorder malfunctioned. BUT, he also recorded the audio separately, and praise the Lord there is a recording of that evening’s “I’ll Fly Away”. (More on that later.)

One Way Ticket

Over the two weeks I had spent by her side, it was as though I got to walk with her through the terminal to the “gate” so to speak.

Then for the next few weeks after I left, there were others who helped her through what she may have perceived as a “flight delay”, trying to make her time waiting at the “gate” of life as comfortable as possible.

It became clear over the week following that second Oracle concert, that Mom was having a rough time again.

She had been admitted to an actual hospice home where she could get the most TLC possible.

We had a bunch of family events coming up in New Jersey that I had hoped to attend, AND then a (very UNUSUAL for this time of year) nor’easter was suddenly on our doorstep as well.

Talk about matters for prayer!!!

Lord, do I have time to wait for our family events to be completed (that I had so wanted to attend over the next couple of weeks)?

Should I DRIVE down in the storm? Should I fly out DURING the nor’easter?

If I fly right after the storm, will there be all sorts of delays that will leave me stranded at the airport?

Will Mom be able to hang on until I get there?

Trusting His will and timing (and realizing it would cause me to MISS some family things that were dear to my heart), I went ahead and booked a ONE WAY ticket for the day after the worst of the storm was supposed to be over.

Not knowing if she’d still be with us, or if she would continue to remain for days afterward, there was thankfully a ticket available, and by God’s grace, I “bit the bullet” and purchased it.

Only the Lord knew when or if I’d be back in time for any of the family events up north….

Moments of Grace

Praise the Lord, the flight went perfectly well with no delays or issues.

I arrived to her room at about 5 PM, and PTL she was still with us!

She was sedated, so she could no longer have conversations with us, but that evening and the next day we were able to express OUR love to her, sing hymns for her and simply “be there” together.

One of my sisters and I stayed over night with her, and it was a bit comical as one or the other of us would periodically lift up our heads to listen for her sweet gentle breaths.

So I got to spend one last precious night with her.

There was a little screened in porch off her room, and that morning, the sun was rising gently on that side of the room, so I opened the door and let the beaming rays stream in, along with the sweet, lilting songs of the birds.

I sang her a couple of my songs on the guitar, read from the Bible and prayed.

My sister and I had sweet moments together with each other, as well as with Mom.

My sister’s daughter as well as another of our sisters and her husband also came by during that day.

Later in the evening, another one of my sister’s daughters came by and thankfully got to say her “goodbyes” to her “Grammy”, even though those were difficult moments to be sure….

Then, my uncle and aunt (his wife) came to see Mom.

The Adventure Begins

This particular aunt and uncle were always SO involved with Mom and her husband. They would go out so very often as a “foursome” on some excursion or other, often quite spontaneously.

We were discussing those moments together, reminiscing with joy about their fun travels over the years.

Our aunt hadn’t been able to see Mom over the recent weeks, because she was recovering from some surgery of her own.

Thankfully they came by to see her when they did….

At one point around 6 PM (25 hours after I’d arrived), our aunt leaned over to Mom and softly told her something like “Barbara, you’re heading out on a wonderful adventure, and we’ll all be following along after you.”

At that precise moment, someone (I think my uncle) said “did she just stop breathing”?

And sure enough, even though her little body was still making the motions of breathing for a while, the actual breaths had stopped.

She had WAITED by the grace of God for those of us she loved to be by her side, and once her sister-in-law spoke those kind words to her, she was ready to lift off to Glory, as her Master finally called her home.

The Way

Mom was so very ready to go on that ETERNAL ADVENTURE and finally see the place Jesus had been preparing for her.

The Way to get there was not always clear to her. But the destination was in her sight.

As the Bible says (quoting Jesus) in John 14:1-6 (ESV)

“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going.”

Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me….”

It behooves us all to remember that there is ONE Way to get to Glory. And Jesus IS that Way.

Mom fully trusted in His provision for her, that His blood was the payment for her sin, securing her “ticket” to eternity so to speak.

The cost for that trip is IMPOSSIBLE to pay on our own. Thankfully, we have a gracious benefactor who has already footed the bill for us.

Provision

Our part is to accept His gift and trust Him to lead us every day throughout our life.

Praise God that over these past couple of months, the Lord had graciously orchestrated various moments in life, so that songs, pictures, videos, etc. were already on my computer to use for contributing to Mom’s celebration of Life with our family in Florida.

Also, I am publishing a new video in Mom’s honor, featuring the version of “I’ll Fly Away” that was recorded during our Oracle concert, about a week and a half before she departed. The video also includes some of the footage that was recorded out of the airplane window that day when the Lord lifted us up over those storms.