I realize it\u2019s not for everyone.\u00a0 Be assured that I\u2019m still here to bring you bargains from Arizona, not just ramblings that you may not agree with.\u00a0 But, for those of you who want to read . . . keep going. It is Well<\/span>! This was written on July 22nd, \u201cin the middle of the night,\u201d as I couldn\u2019t sleep \u2014 about 30 hours before she died on July 23rd, 2014.<\/em><\/p>\n My mom is dying.\u00a0 Cancer is taking her.\u00a0 I don\u2019t like it.<\/p>\n I can\u2019t help but think of Hortio G. Spafford\u2019s story<\/a>.\u00a0 He wrote the hymn \u201cIt is Well with my Soul\u201d<\/em> after his four daughters had drowned.\u00a0 His wife survived the shipwreck and remembered a friend saying, \u201cIt\u2019s easy to be grateful and good when you have so much, but take care that you are not a fair-weather friend to God.\u201d<\/p>\n So, I am thankful to God now . . . right now, in the midst of tears and a broken heart.\u00a0 I am a friend of God in the good times and the bad.\u00a0 My life is full of blessings.\u00a0 Life will never be the same without my mom, but it will still be the perfect life God has for me.\u00a0 That doesn\u2019t seem possible right now, but I will trust.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve been here before, with the heavy burden of death lurking.\u00a0 Our newborn son lived only five weeks, never leaving the hospital.\u00a0 Going through that pain and still being in love with God and with the life He has given me, produced a firm confidence.\u00a0 I will not only survive, I will thrive!\u00a0 I have a peace and joy that can\u2019t be taken from me.<\/p>\n There will be days when I need to dig for the deep joy I have, when I\u2019m not able to count on the surface happiness to get me through.\u00a0 I will need that true joy since I will feel pain that I don\u2019t want to feel.\u00a0 I\u2019ll experience anguish that, at moments, will feel unbearable.\u00a0 I will have small regrets.\u00a0 I\u2019ll cry so much that my head will hurt for days.\u00a0 I\u2019ll feel the emptiness of daily tasks that will make doing them seem wrong.\u00a0 I will make friends and even strangers feel uncomfortable as I shed a tear at a seemingly random time.\u00a0 It\u2019s the \u201clittle stuff\u201d that will get me most, which really makes up the \u201cbig stuff\u201d in life.\u00a0 I have so many \u201clittle stuff\u201d memories with my mom that will be cherished and remembered, often.<\/p>\n Hopefully, it won\u2019t take me long to look beyond my own hurt and wonder what everyone else at the grocery store (or wherever!) is dealing with.\u00a0 Then, I can hope that the wonder will turn into an opportunity for me to listen to or encourage someone who needs it.\u00a0 That\u2019s what my mom would have done.\u00a0 There\u2019s pain all around us and nobody is immune.<\/p>\n My mom will be fine, beyond fine!\u00a0 She believes Jesus is her savior and is forgiven and ready to be welcomed into heaven.\u00a0 I truly believe that.\u00a0 So, I need to change my thinking.\u00a0 Cancer is not taking her.\u00a0 God is taking her home.\u00a0 It is well with my soul . . . past, present, and future!<\/p>\n \u201cWhen peace, like a river, attendeth my way,<\/em> Don’t miss a deal<\/span>!\u00a0 <\/strong>Follow on: \u00a0Facebook<\/a>, email<\/a>,\u00a0RSS<\/a>, or\u00a0Twitter<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 5<\/span>Comments<\/span><\/a>Last week, I was happily shopping in the frozen food aisle at Safeway.\u00a0 Someone in the next aisle over sneezed and I immediately started crying.\u00a0 It sounded like my mom’s sneeze.\u00a0 I didn’t even know that I knew what it sounded like, but I guess I do.\u00a0 I buried my head in a freezer case… Read More \u00bb<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[29],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n![\"hawaii_sisters\"](\"https:\/\/www.bargainbeliever.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/hawaii_sisters-300x193.png\")
This was taken in Hawaii (in Oct), where Mom took us (with our families)
\nafter being told she had a short time to live.<\/span><\/em>
\nWe had a trip of a lifetime, filled with great memories!<\/span><\/em>
\nI am on the left, with my two sisters on the other side.
\n<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n
\n<\/em><\/p>\n
\n<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
\n When sorrows like sea billows roll;<\/em>
\n Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,<\/em>
\n It is well, it is well, with my soul.\u201d<\/em>
\n_______________________________________________________<\/p>\n