Today was the greatest day in Mama’s life a year ago today. Last year on January 6th, she stepped through that veil that we can’t see through, but that lead to her perfect health and life eternal with her Lord and Savior. She worshiped and served Jesus here on earth, but now her worship is made perfect, with the fullest most perfect joy that we cannot even begin to imagine. My heart, as well the rest of my family were torn and wracked with grief and stunned at the same time. I felt like a chunk of my heart had been ripped out, leaving a “Mama sized” hole. We grieved, but not as some would. All of us knew even then that we will see her again when it is our turn to walk through the veil into Heaven.

Thankfully, God allowed Daddy, me, my brother, Joey and his wife, Lisa, along with several other family members to be there when Mama took that step into the rest of her eternity. Even though she was physically no longer aware of anything we all got to tell her we loved her, give her hugs and kisses, and tell her it was alright to go. She was struggling to breath, so we knew her time to go was at hand. None of us would trade being right there with Mama right then, and it’s been a comfort to all of us that we were.

After Mama went home that day and in the days after, as I meditated on it with my face turned to Jesus, He began to take me on another piece of my journey and began to open my eyes to an understanding that I didn’t have before about death. My heart asked Him questions that I couldn’t begin to put into words; but He knew my need for the correct answers from Him. Jesus was patient and kind; loving and strengthening; compassionate and comforting. He gave me the answers as I was ready for each one.

One day in the car on the way from visiting Daddy and my brother Joey and his wife Lisa, I was in one of these states of heart as I have come to call it. With my heart and mind tuned to Jesus and what He would say to me, I believe I received an answer that was pivotal to me personally. I sensed He was explaining to me that Mama simply walked through a veil we can’t see through right now with our earthly eyes; that she simply continued on her walk into eternity. She had reached the point on her line where the next step took her through the veil. It also seemed Jesus was saying to me that we are all on our eternity journey much like a time line; a line of continuity. Our time line begins as we are conceived and it continues through life and on through the veil into eternity with God when our physical life stops here, and if we know Him as personal Lord and Savior. Mama did know Him, and we know that she’s there in that place called Heaven even now.

On this anniversary day of Mama’s home going I know Jesus has walked through the past year with our family. Each of us has processed all of this in our own way, as well as together. In sorting through Mama’s things we have found some treasures that mean a lot to us. We didn’t know some of them existed. There were some things that we hadn’t seen in a long while, and others that were all around us. I treasure the things I have to remember Mama by. I would love for her to still be here healthy and laughing and enjoying life, but none of us would ask for her to come back here after the ultimate life experience any of us will ever have. She is truly living the ultimately blessed life with no end. I pray that if you are going through something similar that you will ask Jesus and allow Him to help you with it. He wants to do that for you. My prayer for you, also, is that you allow Him to fill you with that hope and peace that only comes from Him.

Have a very blessed weekend, friends.