Well Done My Good and Faithful Servent

Last night, my Brother's MIL (Mother-in-law) passed away. Most folks aren't close to their siblings in-laws, but "Ms. Teresa" was a gem. When a person dies that's close to me, I always have this moment when I wonder if I impacted their lives the way God wanted me to. I can't help it. I have this mental checklist. "Did you pray for her?" Yes. "Did you do everything I told you to do concerning her?" I think so. It's that "I think so" that sometimes worries me.

Ms. Teresa seemed to be about the same age as my Mom and in the duration that I've known her, she's always had some type of ailment. Her youngest daughter (my Brother's wife) lives out of state, so on the occasions where Ms. Teresa is rushed to the hospital, my SIL is usually not in town.

One of the occasions when Ms. Teresa was taken to the hospital, my SIL wasn't there and couldn't fly in immediately. I knew my SIL would be worried. As I prayed for Ms. Teresa, I heard God telling me to go and see her in the hospital. I walked in her room and she was surprised and glad to see me. While there, we talked, I combed her hair, I put lotion on her legs and feet, and fed her because she couldn't use her dominant hand well. I then had Ms. Teresa to make a short video and I sent it to my SIL. She texted me back a thank you and said she was relieved to be able to actually "see" her Mother. (Weeks later I spoke with my Bro. and he told me my SIL kept playing the video I sent her over and over again.) I went to the hospital daily until Ms. Teresa was discharged to a rehab facility. I also visited her once at the rehab facility and she was doing great.

I'll never forget one of the last times we had a Labor Day family get together at my Bro and SILs house. I knew Ms. Teresa (who was also a diabetic) would be there, so I made a sugar free peach cobbler just for her. She was so happy, I thought she was going to cry. She was also impressed with my cooking skills and didn't believe it was sugar free. :)

I've heard it said, folks usually know when their about to die. I think she probably knew over a year ago. There were a couple of instances where she could have just transitioned to eternity, but I honestly think she persevered because her daughter (my SIL) wasn't ready for her to go yet. Our family loved her like she was an Aunt or something. My Mom would make her cookies (sugar free), send cards of well wishes and spoke on the phone with her often. My Mom even went to visit her in the rehab facility just last weekend.

I had heard she had a good day yesterday. My oldest sister visited her and brought her some fresh flowers. Upon my sister's arrival, Ms. Teresa happily said, "I'm going home!" For some reason, I don't think Ms. Teresa was talking about her earthly house.

 My SIL reads to Ms. Teresa over the phone almost every day. My SIL said she had just completed reading the book, "A Lesson Before Dying" to her Mom. Later yesterday evening, she took a turn for the worst, loss consciousness and Ms. Teresa quietly slipped away with one of her daughters by her side.

At the beginning of this post, I had a hint of a doubt that I did all the Lord told me to concerning Ms. Teresa. After writing, thinking and remembering while writing this, I can say with confidence, "Yes, Lord. I did all you told me to do concerning Ms. Teresa."

Last night, after reading the Facebook post my SIL wrote notifying everyone of Ms. Teresa's transition, I wrote this simple line. "In a place where pain will be no more, through heaven's gate your soul will soar."