This Mother’s Day as we recognize our mothers, I would like to honor my precious mama who is absent in body but present with the Lord. Her sweet spirit lives on within us, and as she said yes to Jesus, she never looked back but embraced a life of sacrifice and service by loving her King. Thank you, mama for leading us to Jesus!

As I sat by the hospice bedside of my mama, my heart was strangely warmed, I was not only a pastor comforting a saint but a daughter loving on her mama. Her face aglow, and her body resting in peace, she was ready to meet her Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ. In just a few short years, our immediate family has suffered the loss of several saints and our hearts are feeling the void. As pastors we face death constantly, but when it is your own family members, it challenges things. We, pastors, feel deep grief during loss. We are not exempt, nor should we be. Many people say, “Stay strong, fight the good fight, but the words that comfort and encourage others during uncertain times are, “I am here for you, I am praying for you, you are very loved, and remain in my heart constantly.”

If anyone knows about deep pain and grief, it is Jesus. He walked a three-year journey toward the cross of suffering for the sake of all of creation. He bore our sorrows and grief; and yet, Isaiah tells us that he went like a lamb that is led to the slaughter never uttering a word but in silence acknowledging that the Father’s will must be accomplished for sake of the kingdom. What then can we say amid our gut-wrenching pain and tears that flood our soul, but simply to cry out in the wilderness and trust that Jesus will meet us in our greatest need to walk through this earthly portal of sorrow and loss toward God’s grace and glory. Jesus knew, Jesus knows, and Jesus claims us all as his very own.

You see, Mama’s gift to us all is God’s unconditional love, because she is a lover of Jesus from start to finish. I am reminded of Song of Solomon’s words in 2:10 (NRSV), My beloved speaks and says to me: “Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away: for now, the winter has passed, the rain is over and gone.”  Mama lived in the high places of God’s powerful love in Christ and yearned for all people to know that there is no greater love than anyone who laid down his life for another. Today, the kingdom of God summons us all to move upward toward perfection by loving the Lord with all our heart, soul, and strength, and our neighbor as ourselves. Mama’s tapestry of love represents generations of people and events wedded together to make a whole, a legacy of carrying the beauty and power of God’s love in Christ through our freedom, our faith, our grace, our love, and our fortitude, all for the sake of ushering in the kingdom. Praise his holy name! Our dear mother has left the imprint upon our heart of getting to know Jesus in everyday life. No matter what we have faced, she taught us to reach for the heavens and encounter the joy of Jesus, his kingdom now on earth as it is in heaven. We thank you mama for how you have forever displayed God’s amazing love in Christ to hold us all together. Praise his holy name!

Blessings,

Dr. Caroline