A Moment of Clarity

My dear and old friend Connie, has been blessing me with words of wisdom regarding my precious friend Mary. Mary has terminal cancer and more than likely, unless the Lord intervenes, does not have long to live. I asked Connie for words of wisdom regarding what I should know in the coming days as Darrel and I walk through this illness with Mary. Since we will be moving her in with us this weekend, I welcome wisdom from those who have walked this path before.

One nugget of wisdom that she shared with me was to "watch for MOMENTS OF CLARITY" as Mary speaks, as those moments of clarity in her mind, might be the last ones she shares with me. You see, the cancer has spread from her lungs, to adrenal glands, to lymph nodes and now is in her brain. As her mental clarity is failing daily, these were precious gold nuggets to me and have made me aware of the importance of truly listening to everything she says, for words spoken from her heart to mine, could be the last ones at any given moment.

Today though, I'm the one who had A MOMENT OF CLARITY. Here I am watching and listening and hanging on her every word, when right in the middle of me listening to her, I was the one who had the MOMENT OF CLARITY.

I'm going to do my level best to express what's deep in my heart and what I felt at that moment.

I sat beside her, holding her hand, tears in my eyes. Her plate lay before her after having eaten her favorite daily onion rings from BK, the smell of them still in the air. The air was hot and so sticky, as she goes without AC to save on her electric bill. In front of me on the table, lay all the paperwork left behind from Hospice, the social worker and the man who delivered her oxygen today. A hummingbird had just flown away from the feeder out front that Darrel hung for her and it brought a smile to both of our faces. Boxes lay on the floor that I had packed in preparation for moving her here with us. For the first time, I noticed how beautiful the blue in her little eyes was and how wrinkled her face was. It was as though time stood still for a moment right then. She shared her love for the Lord and what she knows He has done in her life. Clearly, I felt as though every detail in the room was alive in my head. She gripped my hands and with clarity, shared with me, once again, how much she loves me and Darrel and my whole family. She thanked me over and over for caring for her and loving her so much. In that moment, clarity came to me.

THIS, at that moment, was what life as a Christian is all about. THIS was a moment I shall never forget. I realized with great clarity the importance of what I was experiencing and it is burned into my memory.

A simple, but favorite meal, eaten together with a friend....

The power of the human touch as we held hands....

The beauty of the hummingbird, one of God's creations, to enjoy together....

The appreciation of my friends "blue" eyes....not brown, not green, but blue....

The TIME we were spending together, just sitting enjoying each other's company....

The LOVE that we feel for each other....

Talking about our Savior together and how much He's done for us....


Today, God gave ME a precious moment of clarity about what is REALLY important in our lives. Mary has helped me see the simpleness of life and how living it simply, spending time together, doing things for one another and enjoying simple pleasures in life. THIS is what is important.

Thanks Connie for your words of wisdom and thank you Lord for the special time you blessed me with today. I shall never forget.