Words for Living - part 3 of 3

Excerpts from part 1: "She promised to find the words. . . and give them to me before she left . . . Morning came. . .both of us forgot her promise.”  

Excerpts from part 2: 
“Last words are important . . .Tara spoke no last words to me, technically, that was true, but she did, never-the-less leave me with words--powerful words to live by." 

 

. . .continued.

Alone in the silent house, I wandered into the downstairs bedroom, pulled a chair up to the desk, and turned on the computer. A week had passed since my daughter Tara’s funeral. Family and friends had returned to their own lives. My husband Sam had returned to work in hopes of regaining a sense of normalcy. My daily practice of turning on the computer to read e-mails of consolation was as close as I could come to a normal routine.  In spite of the beauty of the September morning, I doubted if any day would ever seem normal again.

I opened my inbox and gazed through the long list of emails with names beside subject lines that said, “I’m so sorry” and “We’re praying for you.” One subject line leapt from the screen.  

“I meant to send this before I left.”  

It was from Tara. 

I glanced at the date on the top of the page.  It was written prior to her death. It had not been there the day before. A glitch in cyber space?  A coincidence? I don’t think so.  I think they were last words from Tara, perhaps delivered by angels during the night.

The e-mail read:

Mom, I meant to send this before I left . . .

What a friend we have in Jesus,

All our sins and grief to bear!

What a privilege to carry

Ev'rything to God in prayer!

Oh, what peace we often forfeit,

Oh what needless pain we bear,

All because we do not carry

Ev'rything to God in prayer!

Have we trials and temptations?

Is there trouble anywhere?

We should never be discouraged,

Take it to the Lord in prayer

Can we find a friend so faithful

Who will all our sorrows share?

Jesus knows our every weakness,

Take it to the Lord in prayer.

Are we weak and heavy laden,

Cumbered with a load of care?

Precious Savior, still our refuge;

Take it to the Lord in prayer:

Do thy friends despise, forsake thee?

Take it to the Lord in prayer;

In His arms He'll take and shield thee;

Thou wilt find a solace there.

And Mom, as for the other hymn we talked about, (not sure what the number is in the hymnal, but I think it is number 661), the last verse, (and my favorite prayer). . .

The peace of God, it is no peace,

but strife, closed in the sod.

Yet let us pray for but one thing--

the marvelous peace of God.

           Had a wonderful time. Thank you for everything! I love you, Tara

   Reflections: 

Matt: 11:28 "Come unto me all ye that travail and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." 


"Jesus did not come to explain away suffering or to remove it.  He came to fill it with his presence."~Paul Claudel 


"Angels are sent to bring us messages from God's heart."~ Charles Hunter

“Some people come into our lives and quickly go.  Some stay for a while, leave footprints on our hearts, and we are never, ever the same.” ~Flavia Weedn

“Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.” ~Theodor Seuss Geisel

--If I had one chance to give words for living to someone I love, what would I want them to be?

--Who are the people who have left footprints on my heart?

--Where do I find solace?

--Do I have a favorite prayer? If asked, what would I say?