A Testimony to God’s Mercy

My mother passed on August 23, 2023, at 7:04 PM and I believe God waited until she was His before taking her home.  

Why would I believe this?

The events that transpired from December, 2022, until the last eight days of her life could only have been under the direction of God’s hand. No human intervention could have orchestrated the events I’m sharing with you.

A Spiritual Tug of War

As my faith matured, I was confused because I was not seeing the fruit of the Spirit manifest in Mom’s words and actions. She would declare herself a Christian but I noted her curiosity drew her to teachings not grounded in the Bible. 

This curiosity persisted despite attending multiple Bible study classes and reading sermon messages delivered by my pastors that I printed out for her. But she would not, or could not, discern she was being led in a different direction.

On December 13, 2022, I shared with her that at the age of 93, she was “running out of time” and following a false teacher–not Christ. Her response was to shield the false teacher like a child protecting her favorite doll. A question flashed into my conscience and I asked, “Do you believe the Bible is God’s Word?” A long hesitation was followed by a quietly spoken “yes” which I knew was to placate me so our conversation would end.  Our interaction took place at the end of our visit at her condo door so I didn’t push any further and left.

My follow-up to our interaction was in writing. As she is hard of hearing I knew writing would communicate best as she could take time to read and ponder the information and not claim that “she didn’t hear me.”

In this letter I declared my love for her and for Jesus which is why I couldn’t remain silent. I included a print-out of material on the false teacher and prepared a template with two columns to aide her in comparing the gospel of Jesus Christ and the gospel of the false teacher. I filled out the gospel of Jesus Christ (Jesus, Sin, Savior and Faith) and left blank the gospel of the false teacher for her to fill in the teacher’s position on the same gospel points. Also included were scriptures relating to false teachers (Matthew 7:15; 2 Timothy 4:3); the consequence of following false teachings (Matthew 7:21-23) and a salvation prayer.

I mailed this information to her on January 27, 2023.

During my next visit I found the envelope on her dining room table. The envelope was opened and contents placed back inside. She didn’t fill in the template to reveal the false teacher’s position on the gospel topics.

Seeing this I realized further interaction would be viewed as confrontation. I had peace knowing my actions were obedient to God’s Word. I would continue to pray for her salvation and released her to God.

In March, Mom had an increase in back pain and mental confusion. It became apparent to my sister, Christine, and I that all she was doing was sleeping and eating. Previously resistant to down-sizing to a senior community, on May 2, she said, “I need more help.” With God’s grace and strength, she was moved on May 31, to a senior facility that was perfect for her season of life.  

Even though she was now in a facility with an abundance of activities, Mom’s interest was still just eating and sleeping. Her desire to communicate with me was minimal and there was some mental confusion which I attributed to the transition to a new home.

In mid-July I responded to the prompting of Spirit and read her scripture from the Gospel of John and had her repeat after me a salvation prayer my pastor had prayed over the congregation months earlier. For some reason I was compelled to write down this salvation prayer and it was this prayer, I prayed with her. I had a sense of peace that Spirit was working in her.

Eight Days

August 16 – Torn from Reality

My mid-afternoon walk was interrupted by a phone call. I was told that Mom was found lying on her bathroom floor and was taken to the emergency room. I rushed to be with her.

What I saw when I arrived was surreal. She was writhing and fighting the medical team who were trying to restrain her. Her eyes were shut tight, teeth clenched and she made no sound. I now saw why the medical team restrained her arms– she had clawed her forearms with her fingernails and because of her thin skin and age the wounds were deep and bleeding profusely. She looked like she was attacked by a wild dog.

The medical team administered a sedative and covered her hands to keep her from doing further damage. Never before had I seen anything like this. Mom was completely detached from reality. The 20 minutes it took for the sedative to calm her seemed like an eternity. Once sedated, they proceeded with the mandated tests.

The lab tests reported nothing unusual but the CAT scan revealed a mass on her brain. The doctor on call shared that nothing in these results could explain the state she was in.

Mom didn’t respond to my voice or presence as her eyes remained tightly shut as I prayed over her. She was admitted to the hospital.

August 17 – No Mental Clarity

My sister, Christine, her husband, Ed, and I found Mom asleep with her arms restrained and bandaged.

The nurse let us know that she had a restless night and an MRI was scheduled that day. We stood by her bed as the nurse woke her. She opened her eyes and looked at us but there was no recognition—just a vacant stare. It was as though she was no longer there…

August 18 – Some Mental Clarity

Again, the three of us were gathered in Mom’s room. We woke her and she opened her eyes and this time she recognized and spoke a few words of greeting and that she loved us. Then, a cloud seemed to appear over her eyes, and she again seemed distant and closed her eyes to return to sleep.

We anticipated a visit by the doctor to update us on the MRI and weren’t disappointed. He entered the room and using a unique way to engage us asked, “What do you think?” Without hesitation, Christine’s response was, “What do YOU think?”

He shared that there’s a benign brain tumor and her body would be shutting down.  His prognosis was 3-4 days until death but gave us the option of taking action or keep Mom comfortable with hospice care. We agreed the objective was her comfort.

The doctor placed his hand on Mom and talked to her. She opened her eyes, smiled brightly at this young, doctor, and said she was fine.  Christine, Ed and I were stunned! Could she be rallying? 

August 19 – More Mental Clarity

When waking her for today’s visit she instantly recognized us. She began to talk and engage more than I had experienced in several weeks. She reported that the nurses were tough because they didn’t let her get out of bed and now, she had leg restraints. She wanted me to get scissors to cut her arms free.

We were stunned by her speech and ability to engage with us. Our confusion grew as to what would be the next step of care for her.    

August 20 – More Mental Clarity

Christine, Ed and I left yesterday thinking today’s visit would provide more insight on the next steps of her care. We woke her to see if she would engage with us like yesterday or slip back to that dreamlike state?

With delight we discovered she had yesterday’s mental clarity and continued to declare her love for us.  

August 21– Complete Mental Clarity

As Mom was  a “flight risk” – didn’t want to stay in bed –  an in-patient bed at the hospice was the best option until she could be returned to the senior community with 24-hour care.  

A bed was available and Mom was transported from the hospital to the hospice by 6 PM.

Philip, my son, was scheduled to leave on a business trip the next day so I notified him that this would be a good time to visit Grandma. We arrived at hospice and the nurse said Mom was communicating clearly with her.

Philip was blessed by the time he spent with Grandma. This was a woman he celebrated holidays, birthday parties, watched him graduate, participate in plays, sporting events and march in parades. She was part of his life that was now behind him. But now God blessed Philip with the opportunity to share future plans – his intent to propose to Danielle on their upcoming trip to Scotland on the St. Andrews Old Course. She expressed joy and said, “you will be a good husband.”

When leaving, Philip, said, “she’s like she used to be!” Four weeks earlier when he visited her, he felt the only way to communicate with her was by writing on his phone because her hearing and understanding were so bad. But Philip sensed this was “good bye.”

The last six days had taken a toll on me emotionally, mentally and physically and I felt that Mom was “stable” so I could skip a visit tomorrow. But the hospice nurse informed me that paperwork was missing and I needed to return with it the next morning.  And I did.

August 22 – God’s Appointment

When I arrived that morning, I woke her and she spoke with me like she had ten months ago—comprehending and responding just like her “old self.” It made me feel like her hearing was restored!

I was sitting on her bed and heard a knock on her door.  In walked an older gentleman with a booming voice and I immediately thought, here’s a member of her preferred sex—a man—who Mom will respond to favorably. He introduced himself as the hospice’s chaplain, Michael.

What transpired in the next minutes brought me to tears of joy for answered prayer. 

This chaplain experienced a “near death” at the age of 25 that transformed his life to a life of service for Christ. With conviction, humility, authority and clarity he shared his experience of the presence and reality of Jesus.

From the mouth of flesh and blood, Spirit’s message was delivered.

I don’t believe in coincidence. I believe this was a Divine appointment to bring Mom to Him.

I believe in all my heart that God arranged this chaplain’s visit not only for Mom but for me. I was overcome by God’s mercy to bring His creation to be with Him.

I left Mom with a promise to return tomorrow and she seemed to be enveloped in a beautiful state of peace and comfort.

August 23 – Home with Jesus

Christine contacted me to let me know she visited Mom at noon. She said the room was dark, quiet music was playing and Mom was sleeping. When she woke her, Mom said, “I love you” and went back to sleep.  Christine stayed with her a brief time and then returned home.

I arrived at 3:30 PM for an appointment with the social worker and found the room as Christine described and Mom sleeping. I walked to the side of her bed and because she was sleeping so peacefully didn’t wake her but placed my hand on her and prayed and told her that “Jesus was waiting for her.”

The social worker arrived for our appointment to discuss next steps for my mom’s care. I was told there was no rush to discharge Mom and death appeared not to be eminent.

I prayed again over her and signed out of the facility at 4:15 PM.

At 6:50 PM I received a call from hospice that Mom’s condition had changed and that it would be good for me to be there. Minutes later I received a second call that Mom had passed.

Christine and Ed arrived first followed shortly by Philip and me. There were tears of sadness shed in that room over Mom’s still body. But there was something else.

God’s Blessings

That something else was God’s gift of blessings.  Blessings that were uniquely designed for each of us.

God blessed Mom with the mental clarity and time to bring her to Him.

Christine heard the words she needed to hear, “I love you.”

Philip shared with her the joy of a future life with Danielle and the opportunity to tell her he loved her and hear that she loved him.

 I was blessed with a testimony to God’s mercy.

God tells us His desire is that everyone come to repentance and not perish. He is patient.

“The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9 (NIV)

I believe in my heart that God waited until Mom became His. I could ask for no greater blessing.

Encouragement for You