America's STORYTELLER
Telling Untold Stories in Photographs, Prose and Public Speaking
http://tellmeastory-marcia.blogspot.com/
I am
praying for you today. I'm praying for each person that is going through a time of grief and
sadness. I pray that the PEACE of GOD
will guard your heart and mind.
I've been through storms in life, too.
The day my
mother died, she fell out of the chair that I used to sit in at the kitchen
table. We named the chair, "The
Crying Chair," and the story I
wrote about it and our family is published in the book, A Cup of Comfort.
LINK: http://tellmeastory-marcia.blogspot.com/2015/09/the-crying-chair.html
LINK: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show?id=253125702
A friend of
mine said Mom didn't need The Crying Chair anymore because GOD wipes away all tears in Heaven.
I arrived at my parent's house and
found Mom lying on the sofa in the living room, covered with a blanket, as if
she had fallen asleep on the sofa. The hospice
nurse placed her there.
I knelt beside the sofa and prayed. I got
up from my knees and looked up. There on the cornice board (the wooden
valance) above the living room drapes were large letters on brightly colored velvet posters that decorated the cornice
board. I recognized them as one of mom's coloring projects.
LINK: http://www.stuff2color.com/?utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Stuff2Color%20Bing%20Campaign&utm_term=fuzzy%20color%20posters
The letters
spelled out P E A C E.
Mom so liked to
have the last word.
This was
her "Amen" to my prayer.
Mom always spoke
her mind, and her vicious words often wounded me and others so much that it made me physically
sick to my stomach after I visited her.
Mom never approved of our adoptions, never accepted my chosen
children as her grandchildren, and she let me and our entire family know it.
 |
| My beautiful chosen children, daughters: Sarah Zheng-Kang and Faith Fu Ju. Copyright 2002 Marcia Norwood |
 |
| My beautiful chosen children, daughters: Sarah Zheng-Kang and Faith Fu Ju. Copyright 2002 Marcia Norwood |
I
discussed this heartbreak with our wise adoption social worker, Margaret.
Margaret challenged me: "Are you able to have a relationship
with your mother without your young daughters being present? Your first priority is to protect your daughters, but your mother is dying, and she hasn't always been this mean, has
she? Don't do or say something that you will
regret the rest of your life."
 |
| Mom and Marcia (on left). Copyright 1949 Marcia Norwood |
 |
| Mom and Marcia. Copyright 1970 Marcia Norwood |
Mom made
peace with GOD before she died, but she never apologized for the hurtful things
she said to me and my chosen children, so I decided to trust JESUS to straighten her out when she got to
Heaven.
Mom's last word left on the wood cornice board
was "P
E A C E."
I received
it, and I felt it, too: the kind of PEACE that the world can't give,
and the world can't take away.
GOD's
PEACE.
LINK:
http://www.gty.org/resources/positions/P21/the-gift-of-peace
That is my
prayer for you now.
P E A C E
amid this storm - this sadness in your life.
Trust GOD
to bring you through this.
Not
everything is reconciled on this side of Heaven. We have all eternity to make peace with each
other.
For now keep
your eyes on JESUS
He will
calm the storm in your heart.
He will
never leave you.
Here are some promises from The Holy Bible:
Philippians 4: 6-7
Be anxious for nothing, but
in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be
made known to GOD, and the
peace of GOD, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and
your minds in Christ Jesus.
Isaiah 26:3
You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.
John 14:27
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
2 Corinthians 10:5
We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of GOD, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to CHRIST.
Ephesians 3:19
and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of GOD.
Philippians 4:19
And my GOD will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in CHRIST JESUS.
Colossians 3:15
Let the peace of CHRIST rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.
1 Peter 1:5
...who through faith are shielded by GOD's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time,
You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.
John 14:27
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
2 Corinthians 10:5
We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of GOD, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to CHRIST.
Ephesians 3:19
and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of GOD.
Philippians 4:19
And my GOD will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in CHRIST JESUS.
Colossians 3:15
Let the peace of CHRIST rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.
1 Peter 1:5
...who through faith are shielded by GOD's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time,
and the peace of GOD, which
passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through CHRIST JESUS.
Here are some songs for your
heart and mind.
Let them minister to you.
HE KNOWS MY NAME
SONG LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXKWsfbizB4
BECAUSE HE LIVES
SONG LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4M-zwE33zHA
AMAZING GRACE/MY CHAINS ARE
GONE
SONG LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4M-zwE33zHA
Thanks for stopping by!
Come back often, and invite a friend!
America's STORYTELLER
Telling Untold Stories in Photographs, Prose and Public Speaking
http://tellmeastory-marcia.blogspot.com/
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