My mother-in-law passed away this afternoon. Her body had been failing for some time. She couldn’t walk, could barely see, and had many other health issues. She had been in a nursing facility for four or five years. A born-again Christian, she had been ready to go Home for quite some time.
She is now dancing in Heaven; I wonder if she has met my loved ones who have preceded me there?
I loved this lady, who was also my pastor’s wife. She had a sweet spirit, with a somewhat wry sense of humour, that she kept right up to the end.
Before she went to the nursing home and before I was even dating Roger, there was some vandalism done at our church. Months afterward, it was discovered that my son Nick, then about 16, was involved to a degree. He hadn’t actually done any of the damage, but had knowingly accompanied those who did. I was humiliated and appalled. I felt as though I could never show my face in the church again. Somehow I got up the courage to attend the following Sunday, but I pretty much sat through the service with my head down, not looking at anyone. Immediately afterward, Donna came up to me with tears in her eyes. She put her arms around me and said, “I’m so sorry that Nick was involved”. There was no judgement or recrimination – she was simply sorry for both Nick and I because of the effects of his misdeed.
Nick ended up going to a juvenile facility soon after that day; not for the vandalism offense, but for other things that had occurred. Donna never failed to ask about him and to send good wishes to him. As a mom, that has meant the world to me, and Nick has held her very dear because of the love she showed toward him.
Even after Nick relapsed in later years, with the result of going to jail and then prison, Donna didn’t stop caring about him. She was always interested in hearing about my other kids, too. She would rejoice with me during happy times and commiserate with me about the less desirable things in life. I will truly miss her.
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