I share this picture of a beautiful rainbow that I took a couple of months ago for several reasons. First of all and most important: It is a symbol of God’s and His promises to all of us. He is forever faithful, gracious, and full of mercy for each one of us!
Second: I see special meaning in the dark clouds on the left and the beautiful blue sky that is creeping in on the right that will eventually overtake all the dark clouds. You might be wondering why these things have become meaningful to me.
The dark clouds represent the last six years. My mom was diagnosed with subcortical dementia in June 2013. That August she contracted the West Nile virus and, as a result, she experienced very severe complications. The virus attacked her muscles, gave her severe encephalitis, and caused the dementia to become much worse much faster (I posted about this on this blog at that time).
We kept mom at home for as long as we could. When we saw this affecting our dad’s health, we decided to move her into a long term care facility. She has been there ever since. As time passed, we saw mom literally “disappear” into her own mind. She was no longer able to communicate with us, she became anxious and frustrated, and she eventually needed everything done for her. Watching this happen was very difficult on all of us. If you knew my mom, you know that she hated this! My mom always took care of everyone else. To have to have someone care for her went against every thread of her being. Finally, she lost the ability to drink from a straw or take any food.
The last week or so, we knew the end was close. All the signs were there. She peacefully and painlessly passed away yesterday morning.
The blue skies in this photo represent mom crossing over into her heavenly home. I am sure she was greeted by our merciful God and all her loved ones and friends. The blue, clear skies also represent to me that mom’s body has been healed of the terrible disease, dementia and all her other ailments. She is once again able to walk around freely, talk to everyone, and even skip or run if she so desires. Her beautiful soul is truly rejoicing in her “healing!” That blue, clear sky fills her sky completely and is all she will be seeing for eternity.
The rainbow that is present through the cloudy, dark sky and the blue, clear sky represents God’s presence in mom’s life, as well as His presence in all of our lives. His presence was with mom the whole time as she endured this horrible disease. His presence will remain with of all on this earth as we go through the grieving process and carry on with our lives without her.
We were in Montana when mom passed, and I am flying home today to be with my family. My husband is driving the RV back by himself with our dog, Zoey, as his co-pilot. It will take him at least four days to get home. Please pray for his safety as he makes this long driving journey alone and that the RV will not have any problems. Also, please pray for my dad and our family. I know God will give us the peace and comfort that we will need.
We will be in St. Louis for a couple of months, so I wanted to let you know I will not be posting much for quite a while. Please be patient with me, as Jack and I will continue our RV adventures eventually.
So, for now ….. “On the Road Again,” ….. except it is with a heavy heart.
Betty