In loving memory

Yesterday would have been my Mom's 66th birthday. Family gathered at the cemetery to honor her, remember her, and read a few scripture passages and readings. A family friend is buried right next to Mom and there also happens to be a little tree next to both of them. The Krause family decorated the tree as a Christmas tree and put family pictures on it. What a great idea! That was extra special. Afterward, we all went to breakfast as we have done the past few years.

I think it is no coincidence (although I don't believe anyone realized it at the time of picking Mom's card) that the picture on Mom's holy card is an image of the Holy Family and her birthday happens to be the Feast of the Holy Family in the Catholic Church. I don't recall making this connection the past few years, but somehow it makes sense.

One of my brothers read 1 Cor. 13:1-7 - this is one of the more well known passages saying "Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong but rejoices in right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." And he went on to explain how Mom showed this love to us all.

I read a reading about the Holy Family. One paragraph that especially reminds me of Mom is the following, "The family is the fundamental project and pursuit of the human person. It is the place in which human life begins, is nurtured, and is cherished. In the family, the human person learns to love by being loved, and learns that each person has an incalculable dignity that must be respected and affirmed in small or great ways each day."

We sure miss Mom, but we are thankful that we can do our best to live out the Christian life she taught us.