Life Lessons From Mom - Think and Live!

My mother was a nurses' technical assistant at University Hospitals in Cleveland for 37 years.  She successfully reared six children and still found time to take care of people in the community and so many in her extended family.  She took the time to look pretty, smell good and she was an accomplished cook!  She had a signature smile that would light up a room.  From the outside, many people thought she had it "made!"  Very few people knew the challenges she faced with her marriage and so many other day to day obstacles. 

One day, it was all too much.  Too many life events were happening at once and mom could not see the light of day.  She loved the Lord and her children but this particular day, she couldn't get her bearings and she just felt the weight of the world on her shoulders. A thought popped into her head that she could just leave it all behind and just take a long walk into Lake Erie (we lived a stone's throw from the lake) and not look back.  My mother could not swim.  

Mom worked in the emergency room and typically it was teeming with activity.  This was a slow night and at one point there were no patients waiting to be seen.  She was in the linen room folding towels when she heard a voice say "You've  got a lot to live for, if you just think about it!" She quickly looked in the hall and there was no one there.  She realized that she had heard the voice of the Lord. He was letting her know that no matter how hard things might get, that she still had so much more of life to live. 

She told that story to many people to encourage them to hold on even when things looked bleak.  I thought of my mom's saying this weekend as I watched the University of South Carolina's running back, Marcus Lattimore, writhing in pain from a devastating knee injury.  He had just returned to his starting position after an injury to the other knee.  I can only imagine how discouraged he must have felt.  After just finishing the long rehabilitation with one knee he is facing an even longer road with a more serious injury. 

Marcus must have felt encouraged when he saw players from both teams rush to his side and knell in prayer and support.  By Monday, over a 1000 people gathered on campus to wish him happy birthday and to show their support.  He truly has a lot to live for and God spoke to him through the immediate show of support from so many.  

I don't know what you are going through right now but I do know that you have a lot to live for, if you just think about it!  Take Mother Hubbard's words to heart and live life to the fullest!

DJ

Life Lessons From My Mom

Hello!  I am back after a long hiatus from writing.  I had to take a "time out" and deal with pressing issues of life.  There are some things in life that you cannot put off until later and you cannot do over.  Five years ago, my mom, Geneva Hubbard, suffered a stroke at 87 years old.  She was a vibrant active and very determined woman who, willed herself to take therapy twice a day (the doctor recommended it once a day) and was able to leave the rehabilitation facility and move in with my sister.  A year later, she suffered a more debilitating stroke and was not able to recover from that one.  She needed round the clock skilled nursing care and was eventually admitted to a nursing home.

Over the past four years my mom dealt with a slow but steady decline in her health.  She ended her battle with diabetes on July 7, 2012 at the age of 91.  I got to spend the last three days of her life at her bedside and got to reflect on just how wonderful my mom was. In 1968, when my grandmother passed, my mom told me "When you lose your mom, you lose your best friend."  I now know just how true that is.  

Since mom's death, I have received so many notes and messages of encouragement.  So many of the notes contained stories of the wisdom my mom had passed on to my friends and family.  My mom was known for her wit and wisdom and had a saying for EVERYTHING! I spent my life listening to my Mom's stories and, by the time I had my boys, I was repeating so many of Mom's sayings.  It wasn't until recently that I realized how much wisdom was in all of those sayings.  Beginning today and each Monday thereafter, I will be sharing my Mom's sayings with you and some of the wisdom I have learned from them. My friends started calling Mom's sayings "Geneva-isms" 

My favorite "Geneva-ism" is "You got to go to bed with waking up on your mind!"  My mom has told us that repeatedly.  I once asked her how she could wake up without an alarm clock and she said "Baby, I don't need a alarm clock, I go to bed with waking up on my mind!"  She could go to bed late and still get early.  She was known for being places on time or early--never late!  She said you will miss out all that life has has for you if you don't look forward to all that it offers.  That has resonated with me over the years and when I have really important things to do I focus on what time I need to get up the next day and I am always up before that time.  

My mom lived life to the fullest and even on her worse day, she found reasons to smile and say something positive.  She had a genuine love for the Lord that was demonstrated in the way she loved her children and those around her.  By the end of her life she was unable to walk, eat, use her hands or do anything much on her own.  Even in that state, she would look over at me and say, "It's still nice to see you."  She didn't complain and was mostly concerned about us (her children).  

Isn't that just like a mom!  She has taught me so much about caring for myself and my children.  August is just around the corner and for so many moms it means the start of another school year, sports season, getting the last vacation in, visiting with grandchildren and juggling so much! Don't forget to the joy on the journey and every day, find something to look forward to.  When the day is over, go to bed with waking up on your mind!  Enjoy your week!

DJ