My Rock Upon The Rock

Have you ever heard the expression, “A wise old soul”? That was my mother. She was a wise old soul at eighty-three years old before she passed away. But I don’t think our souls get old. I think our bodies get old and our souls stay young inside. Our brains may get Alzheimer’s but our soul just waits for heaven, untouched by the disease. I don’t think it’s trapped inside of us; I think it just patiently waits to be where, ultimately, it was meant to be. Even though my mom had Alzheimer’s, occasionally her soul would reach out to others when it could, to let others know, “I’m still here.” This would happen by a certain expression or a certain word or memory.

I had the utmost respect for my mom. She was my “rock” through my whole life. She’s the one who taught me about “The Rock”, Jesus Christ. She loved me unconditionally, just like Jesus loves us. She loved me when I was healthy and when I was sick. She loved me when I was obedient and when I was disobedient. She loved me when I was deserving of her love and when I was not. She loved me when I was unwed, nineteen, and pregnant. Though she may have been disappointed, she showed me mercy for my mistake and helped me out.

My parents came to live with my husband and I two years before she passed away. My mother didn’t remember how to drive, cook, clean or even remember my birthday anymore but I will never forget all she’s done for me and how she taught me the most important things in life. One of them being unconditional love. I helped take care of her but I was not her care taker. I was her daughter and always “looked up” to her, no matter how old and forgetful she became.

She raised seven wonderful children, who are wonderful because of her and my father. Not that we are perfect, no one is. But we all know how to love unconditionally because she taught us. Whether we decide to carry that on, is up to us, but we can’t say they didn’t teach us. Thanks to her, I know that my first born son, who passed away eight years ago, is in heaven. I had taught him what she taught me; how to get to heaven. You don’t have to be “good enough”, or follow all the rules, or even go to church every Sunday. All you have to do, is to put your trust in God’s son, Jesus Christ. If God let his son suffer for us, to pay for our penalties, then we must be extremely important to him. God wants us around him for eternity so he made a way for that to happen.

I can’t tell you how happy I am that my son made the decision to believe in Jesus before he died. Now I have the hope and the promise of seeing him again when I die. Its seems like a really long wait but it’s a comfort to know that my mom is there with him and can hug him for me. I know I can trust her to do that for me. I can’t wait to see them again. She’s my rock upon the rock.