I looked back at the Navy base as we drove out the gate and thought, It's as if they brought me to the east coast and dumped me out! It was rather depressing, but I repeated my little verse from John 14:18, swallowed hard and combed my hair.
I walked into the airport with my suitcase and was immediately confused by all the different airlines. I didn't know which one to go to, so I just picked one and walked right up to the desk. There were a few people gathering but it wasn't crowded at this hour. I asked the lady if they had anything going to Texas today and she pointed down the row and said, "Go ask them."
I went to the next desk and asked the same question and the guy there said, "Not for a long time. Come see me later."
So I looked around for a place to relax and discovered that all the hard plastic chairs lined up against the glass windows were molded for butts. There was not a one where a person could recline. So I sat down and nodded for a couple hours. It was miserable and I could feel my neck growing stiff!
I bolted awake about 7:00 a.m., rubbed my neck and looked around at the crowd. The airport was now filled with people. They were standing in line and wandering around looking confused and dazed. It was December 23rd and all these people were hoping to go somewhere else for the holidays. So I got in line and inched forward with the crowd. I didn't have a ticket, didn't know if I could get a ticket and didn't really know where I wanted to go, except somewhere close to Waco, Texas. That was my destination. By the time I reached the front of the line I had settled on just the state of Texas. I finally reached the desk and trying to sound calm and as if I knew what I was doing, I said, "I'm trying to get to Waco, Texas. I'm not sure if your airline goes to Texas but I have to get there soon. My mother is in the hospital and I don't know if she will live much longer. I need to see her before she dies. Can you get me home?" I stopped suddenly, realizing I'd said much too much and the people all around me were staring at me, including the ticket clerk. He looked at me with such pity that I thought he was going to cry. Finally he said, "There's no way you're going to get out of here for two or three days, much less tonight! Do you see these lines?' He swept his arm up and down the terminal as he spoke. "Every airline in the place has been sold out for three weeks!" Then he asked, "Do you have a place to stay?"Now I was the one about to cry. I glanced back at my chair against the wall where someone else's butt now sat and shook my head. I'm sure I looked like a tired, frightened, puppy dog, because he looked upset again, so I added quickly, "I'll just wait over there on the chairs."
He stared at me, incredulously, and said, "Fine, you wait over there on the chair and I'll see what I can do for you."
I found another chair, close enough so I could keep an eye on the fellow, but far enough away not to bother him, then I sat down to begin my vigil. I watched until the long line of people had disappeared into the interior of the terminal, then I saw the desk clerk glance my way, to make sure I was still there. I was praying with every breath. Lord, You promised You wouldn't leave me and if I ever needed You, it's now! This is an impossible situation that only You can solve. Please help that guy get me a flight and please keep Mother alive until I get home.
I was hungry so I dug around in my purse and found a candy bar that Ted and I had bought at the BX in Rota. As I ate it I read some more of my book and started to get really sleepy again. I looked to my right and saw that there were two empty chairs beside me so I got up and placed my bottom in the middle one, put my purse on the arm under my head and draped my legs over the arm in front of me. I covered up with my coat and put the book over my eyes. I was sound asleep in minutes.
I don't know how long I slept but I awoke after noon when I felt someone shaking me. I looked up into the face of my ticket clerk."Get up! I got you a flight!" He was smiling broadly and I could tell that he was just as delighted as I was.
"You did?... to Waco?... You got me a flight to Waco?"
"Well, not exactly Waco, but I got you a flight to Texas! There's a plane leaving Baltimore in an hour, going to Houston and they had a cancellation. Is Houston close enough?"
Well, Houston is about 200 miles from Waco but I didn't have the heart to tell him that. I just smiled and said, "Houston is great!" I was thinking, I wonder if this man has ever seen a map of Texas! "But we're in Norfolk, Virginia. How do I get to Baltimore, Maryland in an hour?"
"Oh, we have shuttles that go to Baltimore several times a day. I got you on one of those." he explained. "They are expecting you up there, so just follow instructions when you get into the airport."
I felt like a little kid, but I just looked and him and said, "I'm so grateful. I know you must have gone to a lot of trouble to do all of this."
"It's Christmas!" he exclaimed with a smile. "I was glad to do it, but come on, you have to hurry or you'll miss your flight. Is this your only suitcase?" he asked as he grabbed my luggage.
"Yes, I can carry it. Where do I pay for my ticket." I asked.
"You just follow me." he replied. "You can pay in Baltimore."
I followed him, practically running, through a maze of hallways. I'm sure it was an unauthorized shortcut. Finally we hurried down a stairway and out to where people were loading into a small plane. He handed my ticket to the stewardess and my suitcase to a baggage handler, said something to them both, then turned and jogged back toward the terminal.
"Thank you!" I called after him again. He waved an arm behind his back and disappeared into the building. When I looked back at the stewardess she was smiling. "You are one lucky lady." she said. I'm sure I had a puzzled look on my face because she proceeded to explain. "That guy stayed on duty for a couple hours after his shift ended. He's been calling all afternoon, up and down the east coast to find you a ride to Texas."
It almost took my breath away. I had no idea the length he had gone to. I went to my seat and sat down to have a good cry. I was so overwhelmed with gratitude to him and the Lord for taking care of me. Tomorrow would be Christmas Eve and I was on my way to Texas! How much more blessed could a person be? I remembered my promise from John 14:18 and said a little prayer for that ticket clerk. I still wish I'd gotten his name, but God knows it.
When I reached Houston I called my friend who had called Spain when Mother went into the hospital. She told me that she would be there in three hours to pick me up. She also said that Mother was hanging on, still conscious and waiting for me. It was after midnight by then so I searched for another set of seats where I could contort my body into a sleeping position and went to sleep.
My friend picked me up just as the sun was rising. She had brought along a thermos of coffee and some breakfast rolls, so we wouldn't have to stop for breakfast. We got right on the road and arrived at my home before noon. As soon as I changed clothes, Daddy and I were headed for the hospital.
I was startled by the sight of my mother. She was skin and bones, but she smiled broadly when she saw me. We hugged and cried as we greeted each other. "I was so afraid I wouldn't make it in time." I blubbered.
"Oh, I wasn't going anywhere until I saw you." she said.
"When we left for Spain I thought I'd never see you again." I continued to stammer through my tears.
"Well you did." she said, matter of factly.
Daddy and I spent the rest of the day with her. I discovered a stash of pills in between her mattresses. She had gotten tired of taking them and was deceiving the nurses by holding them in her mouth until they walked away, then poking them under her mattress. I fussed at her about it and she said, "They don't do any good anyway and I've been choking on them." So I turned her in to the nurse. While the nurse scolded her like a naughty child, Mother just smiled like she'd gotten away with something. The nurse told Daddy and I privately that there was really nothing they could do if she refused to take her medication. They suspected that she'd been doing that for several days and now they knew it was true.
"It's not unusual for a person who thinks they are nearing the end to stop taking their meds. They just get tired of it all." she explained. We went back into her room and Daddy began his lecture to her about taking her meds. She just sighed and said, "Oh Pete, just let me go!"
We left about nine that night and returned the next morning by nine-thirty. When we arrived at her room a different nurse met us outside the door. She gently pulled us down the hall a ways and said, You mother is out of her head this morning. She probably won't know you."
"What?" I exclaimed. "She was fine when we left her last night. She was smiling and talking. She can't be out of her head!"
She was nodding as I spoke then she said, "She is... I'm just warning you so you won't be shocked by it. It's something that happens sometimes just before a person dies. They lose their mental abilities. She's probably not going to be with us much longer."
Daddy and I walked into the room, not knowing what we'd find. She was laying on her side with her eyes closed. "Mother," I said.
She opened her eyes and stared straight ahead. I sat down by her and looked her straight in the eye. They were empty, like she was no longer there in her body. She plainly didn't know me or anything else going on around her.
Daddy couldn't take it. He left the room, then after a while he came back in and we sat there, mostly silent, until noon when a nurse came in and said "You two should go find a place to eat. It's Christmas and I don't know how many places will be open, but I'm sure you can find something. If not, then you can go downstairs and eat in the cafeteria."
We felt like getting away from the hospital for a while, so we went downtown. We did find a place open. It was a Chinese restaurant, so for the first time in our lives we had Chop Suey for Christmas dinner. It was a bleak, sad lunch and neither of us ate very much.
When we returned to the hospital, the doctor was in Mother's room. he once again led us out into the hallway for a conference. He said, "I'm releasing your mother. You can take her home."
"What!" I practically yelled at him. "We can't take her home. We don't know how to care for her. She's too sick. She'll die at home. Please don't release her." I begged.
"We can't do anything more for her here." he explained, "and if you take her home, she may regain her mind. Sometimes familiar surroundings will cause a person to snap out of it."
I felt panicky. I had no idea how Daddy and I could take care of her in the condition she was in. Neither of us had any medical training or experience with caring for the sick. I looked at Daddy and realized that he was as scared as I was. I pleaded with the doctor but he just shook his head. "If this drags on for much longer, I'd suggest that you put her in a nursing home."
Finally I said, "At least give us until morning, so we can get her bedroom ready for her."
"Okay, she'll be ready to be picked up by nine o'clock in the morning. I'm sorry." he added, then turned and walked away. I think I hated that man at that moment.
That night we drove home crying. I was driving and wiping tears and Daddy was doing the same. Finally he said, "I can't let her go. I don't remember life without her."
I didn't know how to comfort him, because I didn't remember life without her either. I reached down in frustration and spun the radio knob. I had turned it up too loud so a song blasted our eardrums. It was "Joy To The World, The Lord Has Come!"
I couldn't help but listen as that song yelled at me, then suddenly it began to sooth me like a balm to my heart. It was shouting it's message at me... The Lord Has Come! Thoughts started rushing through my mind, Because the Lord has come everything will be all right! Because He has come, we can let Mother go. She'll be with Him and He'll be with us!
Suddenly in my grief and fear, peace was breaking through. I turned the volume down and said, "Daddy, we can let her go because the Lord has come. He has been here where we are. He's walked where we're walking and He's with us now. He understands how Mother feels and how we feel and He will comfort us. This is where we cash in on our faith!"
Daddy looked at me for a minute then said, "You're right daughter. Pull off the road."I pulled the car off the road and stopped there. Daddy bowed his head and prayed..."Lord, we give her back to You and we thank You for letting us have her all these years. We trust You to take care of us."
That night we cleaned her bedroom then slept peacefully. The next morning we got up early, and drove back to the hospital. We met them at the door where they lifted her into the back seat of the car. She slept until we got her home. Daddy carried her into the house like a sleeping child and we put her to bed. She never woke up. She slept all afternoon, awaking only once, but she still didn't know us or where she was. After a few minutes awake she went back to sleep and slept through the night. I slept on a couch in her room with one eye open all night. The next morning I awoke to her calling my name. I sat up, shocked and looked at her.
"Aren't you going to get up and fix us some coffee?" she asked.
I said, "Do you want coffee?"
"Did you ever see me refuse coffee?" she asked.
I laughed and hit the floor. "Coffee, coming right up!"
Mother and Daddy visited for a long time that morning. We had propped her up on pillows so she could drink her coffee and they talked about everything they could think of. She was concerned that he knew where all their bills were and what needed to be paid this month. She looked at me and said, "Maybe you'd better write all this down." So I got busy and wrote everything down that she was telling us. Finally Daddy had to go do the farm chores, so it was my turn. She asked about the kids and Ted and how I got home and what they were doing without me. We talked and talked. I told her all about Spain the Fellowship that Ted pastored and his job with the Air Force there and how he went TDY to the middle east often. About noon she said, "You know what I think I'd like to eat?"I perked
"Pinto beans!" she said. "Could you make us a pot of red beans and corn bread?"
"Sure!" I replied, and got right on it. After I had the beans boiling on the stove, I pulled out a tape of one of Ted's sermons and played it for her. She had never heard him preach, because he became a preacher after we left for Spain. She loved the sermon and we talked about it for a long time after I turned off the machine. In the sermon Ted told the story of King David and his men hiding from his enemies outside of Bethlehem. David had expressed a longing to his men and said, "Oh for a taste of the water from the well in Bethlehem! (Bethlehem had been David's boyhood home.) Ted explained that he was longing for much more than just water, but the comforts and peace of home to quench his thirst. That night some of his soldiers sneaked out of the camp and into the city, risking their very lives. They drew water from Bethlehem's well and brought it back to David. When he awoke the next morning and realized the risk they had taken and the love and devotion it showed, he poured the water out on the ground as a drink offering to the Lord. That precious gift he gave back to God. That water that had been sanctified by the love and sacrifice of these men was so valuable to David that he couldn't possible drink it. It had to go back to the Lord.
I could see that Mother was touched by the story and it's deeper meaning hadn't escaped either of us, but as was her way, she didn't try to explain it as I probably would have. She just smiled and asked, "Do you think David's water was as sweet as the water in our well?"
"I don't know,... maybe." I replied.
"When I see him, I think I'll ask him!" She smiled again at the thought. It was the only hint she gave me that she knew she was dying. Then she added, "You tell Ted that he sounds like Mr. Billy Graham!" That was a supreme compliment, coming from Mother and would warm Ted's heart for a lifetime.
We continued to talk after Daddy came in. An old friend stopped by and we reminisced with her for a couple hours.
During the day Mother said several times, "I really should get up and go to the bathroom."
"Just let me know when you're ready and I'll help you." I replied. "Daddy can come carry you in there."
"No, I'm not ready yet." she'd say. She kept putting it off.
The evening was coming on and the beans were smelling good. They were almost done, so I said, "I'd better go and make the corn bread before Daddy comes in hungry."
"Wait, before you go in there, you need to help me into the bathroom. Your dad doesn't have to carry me. You can help me walk."
"Are you sure you can make it? I can go call Daddy."
"No, I'll be fine. You just help me." she said.
So I sat her up and helped her put her house shoes on, then helped her off the bed. As we walked I realized how weak she was. I was practically carrying her to the bathroom. I gently sat her down and began straightening her gown when suddenly her head fell back and her body went limp. I looked into her wide, staring, empty eyes and knew instantly that she was gone. I picked her up and carried her into the adjoining room and laid her on the bed. I felt for a pulse but there was none. I was shaking so badly that my legs barely held me up, but I managed to stagger to the door and scream for Daddy. When he reached us, he looked at her and said, "She's gone, daughter."
"I was crying and nodding but I managed to say, "Call the ambulance." We sat by her side until they got there and took her away.
Before we left the house, to follow the ambulance, I went into the kitchen to turn the fire off under the beans. They smelled so good. She would have loved them, I thought.
What a wonderful, sad day it had been. With tears spilling from my eyes I marveled at the gratitude and peace I was feeling.
(To be continued...)
copyright(c)lauragehrke2014
Awesome, and sad, but knowing you, and the depth of you and your faith in our Lord... there is more to come... Love you Sis....
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