God's Choreography ... Part Two

God's Choreography ... Part Two
      
       Overnight, the flu bug struck again … this time at me, and with a vengeance.  Fearful of re-infecting Mother, I made arrangements to leave for home.  Meals were already prepared and in the freezer, and a young woman living in the apartment building was willing to check on Mother daily.  Mom assured me she’d be “fine,” and she did sound stronger.  I hated to go, but I couldn’t stay.
I called several times in the next couple of days, and all seemed … if not “well,” at least it was “better.”
God used all this turmoil in His choreography.  God had delayed my first arrival.  I was then allowed to make the effort, and to pursue “possibilities,” but it was evident I was not the principal dancer here.  The flu effectively booted me off stage so that Mother could continue her dance to God’s choreography.
Pre-dawn Monday morning, the emergency room nurse called.  Mother was back.  Dehydration is not an illness allowing hospitalization, at least not on Medicare payments, yet obviously Mother was unable to live alone in her apartment.  She needed more care than just a daily “check in” person could provide.
God directed the ballet with the ER nurse in the main supporting role.  Mother remembered the name of the assisted living facility I had seen.  The nurse made the many phone calls to me and the facility’s manager.  By late afternoon the dance culminated with Mother’s admittance to the facility, “until I get better.”  Three days later, she asked if she could stay.  It was time for other dancers to take center stage with her.
Allowed my part again in the encore performance, the official moving day occurred six weeks later.  Everything Mother owned had been sorted.  Most of her furniture and all of her clothing went with her.  Extra possessions were sent off with grandchildren, or to Goodwill and the Salvation Army.  The ballet was concluded.
The standing ovation occurred that evening as Mother looked around her new accommodations.  Her own furniture was creatively arranged to form small living areas.  Her own pictures hung on the wall.  Her favorite pottery pieces graced the wide windowsills.  A few unopened boxes were pulled out of sight.  As late-afternoon sun beamed through her large windows, Mother sat back with a sigh.  “I am … soooo happy!” she said, looking around at her domain.  “I just love it here!”
God’s choreography gave Mother and me nearly eight more months before He gathered her in her final bow.  From sleep, directly into God’s arms.
What a dance!

Part One of Two .. God's Choreography

God’s Choreography

What does a deer through the windshield have in common with the flu bug?  They each formed part of our dance to God’s gracious choreography.
One April afternoon I received the call that Mother had been admitted to the hospital.  Early diagnosis said, “just the flu,” but in a 93-year-old woman, that could be dangerous.  They couldn’t keep her long, she was to be released the following afternoon.  Within the hour I was packed and driving out for the three and a half-hour trip.  “Daughter to the Rescue,” I was flying low.
The deer standing in the median strip caught my eye.  Before I could react, BOOM!  I didn’t even notice her moving, but I certainly noticed my windshield view fragmenting.   Luckily I could see out of the lower two inches.  Just barely enough clear glass remained to allow me to get the car off the divided highway and onto the shoulder.  Somehow I missed hitting the highway marker I hadn’t seen.  Every passing semi shook more glass shards onto my lap.
Before I stopped shaking, my cell phone was in my hand and I was hitting “2” on my speed dial for AAA Wisconsin.  Together the soft, calm voice on the other end and I figured out just where I was, and she dispatched the nearest response team.
An hour or two later, with the car safely towed into the dealership, I regretfully called the hospital and told Mother to expect me the next day.  How I came out of that mess with nothing more than glass in my hair (and into the back seat) is nothing but evidence of God’s mercy!  Not a bump, not a scratch, not even an ache the next day.  However, the car was not so lucky.  The windshield’s “Safety glass” spider-webbed, but did not blow out.  The EMT team had to help open the driver’s side door so I could get out.  The car was battered from hood to trunk.
Bright and early the next morning I tried again … in a rental car.  Other than being startled by a bird flying up out of the median, this trip was uneventful.  I arrived in time to bring Mother home to her apartment.
She may not have been sick enough to stay in the hospital, but she sure wasn’t well enough to be home!  The following night I was calling 911 again.  Dehydration called for IV drip, after which she was again sent home (in the wee hours of the morning.)
The next afternoon I investigated an assisted living facility the nurse had mentioned.  I sang its praises to Mother, but she feared even considering such an idea.  “I can’t afford that!”

God's Promise

God's Promise
to Noah, that He would never flood the earth again.
(witness the rainbow)
God's Promise
to Abraham, that he would father a nation.
(witness the nation of Israel.)
God's Promise
to Mary, that she would bear a son.
(witness, Jesus)
God's Promise
to us, that He would forgive.
(if we repent.)