Thunder and Lightning

My mother was not afraid of thunder and lightning. In fact she loved it. As a child I remember Mom inviting me to sit with her on the porch during a thunderstorm to enjoy the show. She would sit there with a little smile on her face as the rain came pattering down outside and the thunder boomed, and the lightning flickered and lit up the sky. The more thunder the better. It was entertainment for her. And so it still is for me.

I am sitting right now on our lanai enjoying just such a show. Lots of lovely lightning, rolling thunder, and the occasional exciting big BOOM.

And I think of Mom. I don't think she was afraid of very much. When she was diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver (due to hepatitis) she took it with her usual calm, or so it seemed to me at least. As she got sicker and the illness took its toll, she just kept on truckin'. Kept working, kept going to church, kept going out to eat, kept on going to the grocery store, even when towards the end Dad had to push her in a wheelchair because she was too weak and in too much pain to walk around. She just kept on living until the day she didn't.

Today as I sit here enjoying this first class thunderstorm, I am a few hours away from a doctor appointment which will begin to determine the nature of a mass found on my own liver three days ago. I think of Mom. And I think of my husband, who has moved through all of his cancer journeys with such grace. And most of all I think of God. And I remember the words of Jesus:

"Peace I leave with you. My peace I give unto you.
Not as the world giveth, give I unto you.
Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."

Thank you God. Thank you Jesus. I know you are here and I feel your peace.