Instilled in me as a child

The voice on the other line was clear - "Your mother has fallen and we are taking her to Baptist South".

I had seen "Iva Lou" earlier that day and I knew she was more than "puny".  My siblings and I were wondering if a doctor's visit was necessary.  We thought she would be okay until Monday. 

Once she was in the hospital we learned that she had pneumonia and then we learned that she has COPD.  Interestingly enough - the fall produced no broken bones.And now she is in Rehab with a goal of reclaiming her strength so she can get on with whatever is ahead.

As we begin to process Iva Lou's next adventure, I think my siblings, our children and their children can all agree on one thing that we are thankful for -- and that is the fact that our parents instilled a sense of faith in God in us - from our earliest days.

Cindy and I particularly remember a Gideon trip to Minneapolis in 1957 when we heard the Palermo brothers sing "Don't send your kids to Sunday School, get out of bed and take them" as well as "Oh let the sunshine in, face it with a grin, smilers never lose and frowners never win...".  The exposure that Jonathan and Lester got was a little different.  I don't think they remember Gideon trips, but they do know that our parents took them to Sunday School AND church each week.

We, of course, had to make our own decisions about following Christ, but they certainly exposed it all to us - in many ways.

At one point, she became convinced that she might be dying.  I encouraged her to concentrate on the fact that she is still living and then Lester came to see her and reminded her of something daddy told us just weeks before he died in 2009. 

"I have heard about heaven all of my life", daddy said.

"And I am excited to be going there".

Now - none of us think Iva Lou is going to die - now.  We believe she is going to continue to improve.  We do know, however, that one day, it will be time and we are all as prepared as we can be for that.  In the meantime, we are going to keep loving her and praying for her and so much appreciate our extended family and our dear friends for the wonderful love, prayer and support that you are offering.

And about that other song the Palermo brothers sang - the one that said to let the Sunshine in....of course it's the SON shine that we need - and the faith that was instilled in us as children...is in that SON.

PS - here are some Scripture references that are dear to our mother's heart -

Romans 8:28, 29
I Thessalonians 5:18
Philippians 3:10