To Everything there is a Season…
Tonight I have been reminded again that things don’t happen by chance. Two weeks ago due to several different circumstances we cancelled my daughter’s graduation party. Was I sad? Yes. Did I see a greater good come from those circumstances? YES!
This week I had two sessions scheduled for the first of this week. Due to unpredictable weather we moved both sessions to a later date. I really wanted to knock those sessions out and was so looking forward to each one. However, I am so thankful for the blessing I had tonight, that I wouldn’t have experienced if we’d kept the session as planned.
Tomorrow is my mom’s birthday. She won’t remember that it is her birthday. She probably won’t remember tonight. She, like many others, is walking the journey of Alzheimer’s.
I don’t often blog/journal about this part of my life, but my heart is overflowing tonight, and I thought I’d share part of it with you.
This is a picture of mom with all of her brothers and sisters (except one) taken 3 years ago. She’s the one with the bright laugh. I guess that is where we get ours from.
Emily’s graduation was not an easy day for her. Crowds have become a bit of a challenge and her response is often the same of a little infant when there is too much stimulation, she falls asleep or withdraws.
Remember that party that got cancelled? This is where you look for the beauty in disappointments. We had an amazing time together as a family at the lake. Mom was in a totally different mind frame the night after graduation. We laughed, talked, walked around the lake, and laughed some more. My sister who hasn’t been able to visit for a while was with us which made the evening even more special.
Here are a few snapshots of that beautiful day.
Tonight after we celebrated mom’s birthday with dinner at our home, we had “after-dinner” music on the front porch. Mariah played the cello, Hannah the violin, God provided soft rain and wind in the trees. We snuggled under blankets in the big double rockers and listened to the beauty of it all!
THEN, Mariah put the cello up and decided that while Hannah continued with her violin music, she and Grace would entertain us with dancing on the front lawn – in the rain! Oh my word!!! We laughed, mom laughed, it was such a precious time.
The sweetest time came when Hannah began to play old hymns. My mom doesn’t always remember our names these days, but she remembered the words to hymns she has known for years.
I listened to her sing. “All the way my Saviour leads me, what I have I to fear beside. Do I doubt His tender mercies, who through life has been my guide.” Then there was, “Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus, just to take Him at His word, just to rest upon His promise, just to know thus says the Lord.”
I sat beside her and cried as she sang, “When peace like a river attendeth my way, when sorrow like sea billows roll. Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say, ‘It is well, it is well, with my soul’ “.
Yes, for everything there is a season. In the season of the dark days of Alzheimer’s Disease, there are times of joy, of peace, and though the mind may not remember much, it holds to the anchor that “It is well with my soul!”
Happy Birthday to my precious Mother.
My mom & sister!
Beyond Beauty 
Good morning,
My heart relaxed, I sat still, and enjoyed the pictures and your journaling about your mom. Knowing a bit about “behind the scenes” made it special to me. The past can hold a bunch (or punch!), but to seize the opportunities and the blessings God gives us presently, is such a healing and soothing balm. Even though there is a decline in your mom’s health, and there are frustrating moments and weariness, to take hold of the good and know that God is alive and with us on the journey, drawing us (and others, we hope) ever closer to Him, is so sweet and comforting. Thank you for sharing. Love, Debbie
It was a blessing to “try” to capture in words a little of what transpired. Other than at the lake, I haven’t heard mom laugh so freely in years – but then you should have seen our entertainment :)!! I had to get up and leave at one point during the singing – and just have a good cry – for about 5 minutes. Sometimes, in the middle of all our running around, the stark truth of life hits hard. Last night was one of those nights for me. BUT, there is hope and comfort…and it is so sweet to trust in Jesus! Thanks for your encouraging words. Love you too dear friend. You and your family are in our prayers.
What a gift and great memory God blessed you with that day…Romans 8:28 — “We know all things work together for the good of those who love God”… He is with us all along the way — shares with us in our joyous laughter, and cries with us in our sad tears. I am so thankful that you and your family had this special time which will be remembered forever in your hearts. Thank you for sharing these very precious moments. Love, Norma
What a beautiful memory for all of you. My mom had Alzeimer’s Type Dementia, and I did cherish the moments we had when she “came back”.
The story of your Mom singing old hymns is very much like my Mom. She had had a stroke, which we all though had rendered her speechless (her neurologist was sure she would never respond again). We had brought her back to spend her last days in my home, surrounded by family and friends. We all love to sing in our family (we aren’t good, just willing) and I knew Mom loved to be part of any sing-a-long. I asked my brothers to hook up our karaoke machine to the television in the room where Mom lay. We sang a few songs, and suddenly, at the end of a verse of “Shine on Harvest Moon”, we heard Mom very clearly sing out the “ba-da-da-da”. And just a hint of a smile.
Needless to say, we continued to sing and we heard her hum or sometimes “say” words.
She passed away two days later, but the memory stays with me.
Continue to love her up (I know you will) and continue to sing. Sometimes the heart speaks when there is no other way.
Thank you for sharing. Bless you all