Happy Mother's Day in Heaven, Mom!

The song My Story by Big Daddy weave says, "To tell you my story is to tell of Him." And that is so true in my life. I never used to think I had much of a testimony until I had to write it down. My testimony is one that shows how much God loves us and how involved He is in even the littlest details of our lives. Little did I know that skipping eighth grade had something to do with my mom's death. Sounds funny, but it's true.

I can't spend Mother's Day with my mom, but I can honor her by sharing my testimony with you as she was so involved in it. I hope it honors God as well.

It all began when I was five years old. It was Monday, the day after Easter, and my mind must have been full of questions. My brother and dad had gone to church for Awana for the evening. My 5-month old baby sister was asleep in her cradle, and my mom made us cups of hot cocoa (must have been one of those cold Easters in New York!). We sat together on the couch, in the peace and quiet, while I asked her one question after another. That was the night I gave my life to Jesus. My life has never been the same. Although I didn't see it at the time, God's hand was at work in my life.

Fast forward to seventh grade. I worked hard at school that year and ended up skipping eighth grade.

That was part of God's plan.

The next year was when I met the one, the man with whom I would share the rest of my life. We made all sorts of plans while I finished school and went off to college. We set our wedding date to a day before I would finish college, but I didn't care. We were in love and wanted to get married. I knew I could always go back and finish the few classes I needed later on.

That was part of God's plan.

We planned to wait a year or two before having children, but three weeks into our married life, I was sicker than I'd ever been in my life. I was pregnant.

That was part of God's plan.

Nine months and two days after we said, "I do," we became parents. Our daughter was three weeks early, but was a healthy 7 pounds 10 ounces.

That was part of God's plan.

Shortly after my daughter was born, my mother found out she had breast cancer. It had already spread to her liver and there wasn't much hope. Our church bought my daughter and me plane tickets so we could fly home to spend some time with her. They thought it might cheer up her to see her granddaughter. While we were there, my year old daughter took her first steps, right in front of her grandmother.

That was part of God's plan.

My mother passed away just a couple of weeks later. She had looked forward to grandchildren and spending time with them. God knew that. He also knew that my mom was faithful to Him. He blessed her in that she lived long enough to see her first grandchild taking her first steps. God was taking care so that things would fall into place long before they were even a blip on our radars.

If I had not skipped eighth grade, I would have graduated a year later, got married a year later, had a child a year later, which would have been a year too late to bless my mom. God's ways are so much higher than our ways. We may not always be able to see His hand at work, but after all this was said and done, He opened my eyes to see. Now I try to share my story whenever I can, because my story tells of Him.