Rest Now Omma
It has been two weeks since we had the memorial service for Omma, and Vernon and I have found it to be a struggle to get back in the swing of things. As I think about when we were preparing and planning for Omma’s memorial service, it made me think of how important family is, how happy I felt having my children home with us and my crazy and wild grandchildren. How much I loved seeing and hearing the chaos all around me with the laughter and loud talking. It has made me think about how God brought my family together mending the tear in the fabric of our family. It made me feel humbly blessed that God saw something in me and Vernon, that we were that important to Him, that He loved us so, that He brought our son back to my bosom and Vernon to his mother’s arms. Oh what a God we serve.
What is death to a Christian? The Bible tells us in John 11:11-14 … "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I go, so that I may awaken him out of sleep." And in Matthew 9:24 He said, "Leave; for the girl has not died, but is asleep”… As Christians we believe what the Lord has taught us about death. So as my mother sleeps and Vernon’s mother sleeps, we wait for that great day when God calls their names in the first resurrection and we meet them together in the air.
Unlike my mother, Vernon’s mother lived a very long life, and I can truly say for the last 18 years of her life she was happy. Something my son said at Omma’s memorial, “Although God was first in her life, Vernon was Omma’s life, he was her world. You could see it in her face how much she loved him when she looked at him.”
Sometimes you wonder about the journey God has you on. Then you realize it has taken so long and on so many turns because of the choices you made throughout that journey. God has to put us back on His path because we have turned off. But during that time of many turns, God is mending hurts, bring loves ones back into our lives, forgiving, and taking all the turns out.
While I stood back looking at the mending that God had to do in my family. Looking at my son and thinking about what he said at Omma’s memorial, on how he felt when he found us. People telling him he should be angry at us for giving him up for adoption and seeing how we were a family. He said he felt blessed to know he found his family whole and not just together but together with God in the middle of his family. If he had only seen, how bent and broken we really were. God had His hands full. And as I thought about it, God had in His plan the whole time to put my family back together, He just had to do some remaking in both Vernon and me.
As I looked on at my grandchildren playing and running around the house, and Kory, Soñée, and Tia along with their spouses laughing and talking, what if I had not listen to the call of Jesus, all of my babies would not be here. That is a thought I will let go. I did listen, God did bless, and all of my grands and children are in my life.
The evidence of God’s abiding love on my family showed strong at Omma’s memorial service. Not only were my children all present, but friends that we thought would never be able to come were there to support us. What a loving God we serve.
The month of March is somewhat of a blur to both Vernon and me, but even through all of the craziness, God pulled everything together. Omma’s memorial service was beautiful. She would have been happy to see how much she was loved.
Omma is buried on our property in Monterey TN. We picked a beautiful spot for her to rest, surrounded by beautiful purple flowers. Purple was her favorite color. You rest now sweet Omma. All of your children are near you now. You rest and we will see you in the morning when God calls your name… to take you home.
