My wrestling was over...

The evening of May 25, 2017 I was studying the photos posted on my January blog, “Bronx Connections.” My mother, sister, and I are displaying our Easter finest in one of the pics taken on Park Avenue by the railroad tracks that ran alongside our apartment building. The railroad tracks were exposed but below street level. We did not live on “the” Park Avenue in Manhattan. Godiva Chocolatier, the Ferrari store, and LePain Quotidien (Belgian cuisine), among other noted establishments, lined Manhattan’s Park Avenue. Our “Park Avenue” in the Bronx was crowded with apartments in varying conditions, Rite-Aid, and a Salvation Army Thrift Store. But, it was “our” Park Avenue and the memories are lovely. When I was fixated on the blog photos, my mother’s health was failing. She began declining rapidly on May 24th.

On Thursday, 5/25, my mother was comatose. My sister assured me that she didn’t need me to travel back East. I've always needed to be sensitive toward my sister’s decisions as she has been there for our mother for years…living in close proximity. My sister and her husband faithfully visited “Ma” throughout those years. As I was traveling to a retirement community for our Bible study on 5/26, I was truly wrestling with not being there with my mother…specifically not having the opportunity to talk with my mother. Talking “with” her at this point was not an option even if I sat by her, unless God saw fit to restore her health. As I was listening to the radio in route to the study, God had me glued to a “Focus on the Family” program which conveyed a brief story about being there for someone who was close to death! I continued to pray, asking God to make a way for me to speak to my mother for the last time. I arrived at the retirement facility and "accidently" left my phone in the car. I realized not having my phone when I got up to my friend's apartment on the fourth floor. We were in the throes of preparing to present "The Hope," a DVD showcasing the birth of the modern-day nation of Israel, followed by the Bible study. I did not go back to the car to get the phone. That was OF GOD. He so blessed the Bible study. When I returned to the car after the study, my sister had called during our class time. Had I taken the phone with me to the Bible study, I would've answered it. I would've missed out on seeing God at work with a few Jewish people in particular. God gave us a lovely Bible study with a new Jewish woman who is so precious - but not a believer. God blessed in multiple ways during the study. Once in the car, I immediately called my sister. It was too late to travel back East. The Manager of the group home suggested that I call my mother and talk to her. She would be able to hear as hearing is the last sense to go. I have known that for years what with visiting many people at the end of their lives on earth. Why I didn't think about it regarding my mother - ?? The Manager assured my sister that the Caregiver on the premises would bring the phone to my mother. So, I called. God had laid on my heart what to share in an upbeat way - about Jesus…about her professing faith in Him in 1974. I told her that I’d been praying that God would be ministering to her even as she slept and perhaps He was even singing over her (Zeph. 3:17). Of course, I said, “I love you. Thank you for being my mother.” I then reminisced a bit since I had studied the Bronx Easter photos the previous night. In parting, I said, “I know we’ll see each other soon.” When the Caregiver took the phone from my mother's ear, she rather emotionally told me that when my mother heard my voice her eyes opened…first time since lapsing into a comatose state! That was a HUGE gift from God. My heart was full! I know this was all orchestrated by God. My mother died at 6:30 a.m. on May 27, 2017. I'm so grateful that God gave me the time with my mother on the phone! My wrestling was over and so is my mother’s! What hope we have in Jesus!


Cathy Wilson
cathylouwilson@live.com