There’s always the chance that while you’re on the road there will be a catastrophe that calls you home.  Of course, that could happen no matter where you live.  For us it happened this week.  My sister called to say my mother was in the hospital and not doing well.  17 hours away.  To understand the panic that call instills, you have to know a little bit about my mom.  My mother has been in poor health since I was 12 years old.  It would take a long time to list all everything medically wrong with her, but this will give you a glimpse - she’s in her 50s and has had over 40 operations.  She’s been to Mayo Clinic several times, once by helicopter, where they “lost her and brought her back” twice.  I’m not talking about a series of colds here.  There were years when I was growing up that she spent over 200 days in the hospital, and because of the severity of her situation she had to be in a hospital an hour away from our home.

When we were younger Mom's prayer was that she would live long enough to raise her children (there are 4 of us and I’m the oldest).  God granted her request.  She has lived longer than any of us ever expected.  I never thought she’d see any of my children, but she was in the room when my firstborn son arrived.  She now has 10 grandchildren that think she’s the greatest thing on two feet.  But, she is older and weaker and hearing that she was in the hospital was scary.  My sister called with updates daily and they were getting worse and worse.  I started looking for an airline ticket.  The prices were high, but driving would cost just as much, and I needed to get there fast.  Then God provided a reduced fair ticket through a friend of ours that’s a pilot.  About that same time, Mom started to improve, but I decided to go anyway.  She’s going home and I’ll be staying with her and my Dad, helping take care of her, doing the things that she’s too weak to do, for about 4 days. 

When I first started having dizzy spells I immediately thought of my Mom, then my children.  I didn’t know what was going on, but I didn’t want them to have to go through the same thing I did growing up, constantly fearing for their mother (like I had any control over that).  My Mom was about my age when she first got sick and the first sign was a weakness in her hands.  She couldn’t grip.  Seems insignificant (like dizziness, right?)  It didn’t take long for her to go from fully functioning to spending all of her time in the hospital.  If I’ve learned anything from that, it is not to take my time or my health for granted.  I have been fortunate.  The medicine that I’m taking has been working well and has allowed me to participate in almost everything I had hoped to do with my family.  I feel great.  But even if my condition worsens someday I will always have these things to hold on to:  the memories we’ve made on this trip, the example my mother has given me of how to endure with grace, and a God who will never leave me.