A beautiful book was written and a year later I still love to turn the pages and remember.
Chapters full of life, distant and not so distant memories and stories of a life well-lived,
Snapshots that share joy and ones that are sure to cause tears,
Words intertwined with pictures of all the lives touched leaving a legacy of love with every sentence and paragraph.
A story that ended a year ago…
Chronicling the life of 88 years of living, growing and learning.
Each chapter marking the important events of an amazing woman of grace and strength.
A book bound by family and friends with God at the center.
One chapter weaves the words of my beginning and is filled with memories of…
Working side by side in the kitchen baking cookies,
Hot summer days at the pool swimming and snacking on pretzel rods with sun-kissed skin,
Family dinners around the kitchen table, car trips to new destinations
And Christmases patiently waiting for Santa to appear.
Other chapters share stories of my four brothers~
All speak words of love, faith and how a mom gracefully led her family.
The final chapter has been finished and “The End” has been stamped on the last page,
But the love of one woman- a mom, sister, wife and friend has been documented by the word pictures, snapshots and well-loved stories that continue to be shared.
God’s story embraces ours and bookends our beginning and end.
God lovingly creates a story for each of us – knowing ahead of time our beginning and end.
[Tweet “God meets us in our ending and creates a new beginning”]
I am blessed that even as tears flow and my heart aches, God chose my mom’s story to intersect with His. God always fills in all the missing pieces and writes the words of our story as His own-full of love and grace.
As I reflect on the one year anniversary of my mom’s passing, I know that grief is always present and leaves a gaping hole filled by the ache of loss. But the God of Comfort is by my side. His embrace surrounds the sad and ache and hugs it right out filling the emptiness with His love. I am reminded of God’s presence daily and am filled with sweet redemption and assurances in His word. To Him I cling, when grief sneaks in and overwhelms. His word lights the way when darkness shrouds my path and engulfs my heart.
and saves those who are crushed in spirit. Psalm 34:183
I remain comforted knowing that God is always present in the dark and the light. As grief ebbs and flows, God’s words move abundantly among the pages of His book as His gift for all.
Blessings,
Mary
Blessed to be linking with:
Hi Mary! I feel your pain on this first anniversary of your mother’s death. I often wonder why God wants us to love each other so completely…and then we have to go through the pain of losing them.
I know there is a hole in you that can never be filled. But I pray that your mom will send you reminders of her life (as this book did), and bring you peace. Such a wonderful mother is surely in heaven, looking down at you and drying your tears.
May God bless you with his peace and consolation,
Ceil
There is a hole from loss that will never be filled but God gave me the gift of a mom who taught me about love, grace and God. I was blessed by the gifts of her legacy that she left behind. Your sweet words are a comfort to me and I know my mom is drying my tears as she has always done. Have a blessed weekend and thank you for your constant encouragement.
A beautiful remembrance. My dad passed more than 5 years ago and I still miss him terribly. so wish I had access to his great wisdom. You are so right…God writes each of our stories. He knows and ordains the beginning and the end. May you continue to feel God’s presence through your loss. Blessings!
What beautiful words of encouragement Elise! God is our author and loves to write the words of who we are and will become. I am blessed because He chose me, my mom and all our loved ones’ stories to become intertwined with His story. I will pray for you as you continue to feel the loss of your dad. Blessings!
What a beautiful way to reflect on an ending, Mary. These words are a treasure. Thanks for linking up at #ThreeWordWednesday.
Your kindness is such a blessing. Thank you for encouraging me!
What a lovely testimony to how God has worked and blessed through your mother’s life. What a rich treasure of love. Your words remind me of my own precious mom and how grateful I am. Blessings of comfort and grace.
I love having you stop by, Ginger! The blessings we receive from our moms can be endless and being present when they are with us is so important to learning who we are and how our lives intertwine with our mom’s and God’s story. Have a blessed weekend!
Oh wow! It’s been a year already, Mary? I’m so glad that you have this scrapbook to reminisce with, because I know it also brings healing. It sounds like you had an incredible mom. That explains a lot about how sweet you are! Consider yourself cyber-hugged, my friend. And I’d love it if you’d pray for the website issues I’ve been having lately. I’ve spent most of the day trying to resolve them, but so far am not figuring anything out. 🙁
I did have an incredible mom-I am blessed. Taking memories and bringing them to mind can cause tears but so much joy too. Blessed by your sweet words.
I will definitely be praying for your technical issues. They are one of my worst nightmares. Hope they get resolved soon.
Mary, this is such a beautiful way to remember your mother. While I am sure the loss is still profound, I pray the taking of time to reflect on the legacy she left brings you much comfort. And so grateful for His always presence and the comfort He brings. Beautifully expressed, friend. Prayers lifted for you. Much love. xoxo
Your sweet words add to the comfort that I feel and I am so grateful. Your prayers are felt and surround me when grief sneaks in and tries to steal away the happy. Blessings to you and thank you for your friendship.
Thank you for sharing your heart with us and your mother sounds like such an amazing woman. How beautiful that her life has been documented in this way and what a lovely reminder of how God knows our end and our beginning 🙂 Thank you for sharing at #raralinkup! 🙂
Your words blessed me tonight. Sharing story is such a vulnerable as well as amazing thing. God loves when our story intersects with His and shines His light for others to see. Thank you for encouraging me!
Oh Mary!! This was so beautifully written. You have a special gift with putting words together. I loved how you shared about your mother and how the Lord has comforted you. It doesn’t matter how old they are when they pass, we will miss our mother!!
We will always miss our moms because we never stop needing our mom! Thank you for your kind words and encouragement. This blessed me today! Have a beautiful end to your week!
As I read this I began to pray again for you… May You comfort her, Dear Lord.
But my words immediately turned to… And I am so thankful that she knows You and Your comfort.
I am truly thankful that you know and trust in Him every second of your life, ineverything you go through, in every minute you breathe.
Knowing God is the greatest gift! I am blessed that even when life is difficult, God is always by my side. Thank you for your prayers and friendship. Love you!
Much love to you too. 🙂
(Ps I tried another email. Did it still go to spam?)
Hi Heather! The comment still went to spam! 🙁 Not sure why, but I love when you stop by!
Mary, I can very much identify with your lovely post. I lost my Mother 4 days before Thanksgiving in 2014. The ache is real, but the joy is even more so, knowing that she is with Jesus, and reunited with my Daddy. God’s presence has been palpable in these day and weeks, and I am so grateful for it. Stopping in from #RaRaLinkup. Grace and peace
I am so sorry for your loss. I know that we never stop needing our moms and honestly I miss my mom everyday. I have been blessed that God has been so present and His love is felt so deep especially on the days I need it most. I am blessed that you shared and stopped by today. Blessings and comfort!
Amen! The great Comforter is on our side. What consolation is that. Thank you for sharing your heart and your trial on this page. I am blessed by your reminder. We can draw strength from him. Cheering you!
God is our strength and He is what keeps me going each day. Missing and grieving a loved one is so real but God promises to be there for us everyday. What a great comfort that is! Blessed you stopped by today, Kelly!
Oh yes, Mary, you’ve penned it well. The grief does ebb and flow like waves that come to the shore and pull back out to sea once more. May you find the Comforter to be so very present in every breath, in every tear, in every word you write.
Hugs for you, my friend …
Thank you for getting it (grief) and me! I am always blessed by your words and encouragement. Hugs!
Beautifully written Mary! I long for the day when I am reunited with those I love who have gone before me. Hugs!
Thank you Barbie! I long for that day too but know right now God will comfort and surround me with His love. Love you!
A heartfelt post. What can I say? Nothing is permanent in this world. As painful as it maybe sometimes, good things have to end. So new beginnings can start.
I agree that good things end but on the other side is the new beginning if we just trust God to show us. Blessed you stopped by today and thank you for your words.
Good things end for better things to begin indeed. Have a blessed weekend!
Grieving is a process, and I know these anniversaries are hard. Sometimes you must feel the grief to get through it. I see that in your writing this beautiful shareamd when you write about your Mom, you share some of that with us.
Yes-feeling all the deep feelings is needed to move through and move forward. Thank you, Karen, for being here for me today. Love you!
LOVE this remembrance of your mom and testimony of all that God has done through her and in you. Thinking of you today, sweet friend! xoxo
Blessed by your friendship and sweet words. Praying my way through and comforted by the love of our Father! Love you girl!
Mary, this post is just so full of love & tenderness. I cannot imagine life without my mom, soon to be turning 80. We lost my mother-in-law in April (so not yet a year) & I have found myself poring over her cookbooks (handwritten by her) & baking. Funny how it has comforted my husband’s family 🙂 I am so grateful there will come a day when we no longer will ever be separated. May He bring you a memory today which will fill you with joy. X0
I look forward to the day when we are brought together with our loved ones and see God face to face. How glorious that will be! I am blessed by your sweet words and spending time digging into your memories and even recreating them-such as baking is such a comfort. Thank you for stopping by and comforting me today.
There is a grace filled life behind these words…and it warms my heart. So precious are those memories. We wear them like a cloak against the coldness of losing someone we love while we remain on this earth .
As I read the words above that have flowed from your heart, your heartache, I was reminded of this…..To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair. In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the LORD has planted for his own glory. Isaiah 61
You my friend are finding the strength of a mighty oak as you allow yourself to make this trade off with your loving Father.
Much love from me to you this morning Mary
Your beautiful words were a light for me today as I mourned, missed and ached the loss of my mom. I have wonderful memories and stories of my mom and truly these are my comfort on days like today. The greatest gift is God’s love that calms, comforts and soothes me! Love you!
Beautiful post and tribute to your mother. What a wonderful memories and legacy of love.
Thank you! I am blessed by knowing firsthand a mother’s love as well as how to be an example for your own children. My mom taught me well and i pray my legacy continues the one she began and grows from there. Blessings!