The Hope of Glory

Taken in 1959 when my

 Mom was 22 years old.

Nancy K. Stout

San Francisco, Calif.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Today is the 7th anniversary

of my Mother's physical death.

It is amazing to think 7 years

have passed since that day I

saw her take her last breath.

As Mike said in our Christmas

letter that year,  "she believed

she would be healed until the

last moment and that is what

true faith is".   She was 67

years young.  She always

seemed young, that is why

it was a shock when she was

diagnosed with leukemia the

year before.    Sometimes it

seems like just yesterday

and other times forever.

  Her favorite bible verse

 was from Colossians 1:27

"Christ in you,

the hope of glory".

We had a plaque made with

that verse and placed it

on the railing of Capitola

Wharf as she loved the

ocean as much as me.  In

fact, I am sure that is where

 I get my love for the sea.

In October 2006, Mike and I,

 and my cousin Zona and her

 husband Howard, who came

out from Colorado, scattered her

 ashes in Monterey Bay.  I told my

Mom that I would not keep her

 ashes on a mantel or shelf.  I almost

 kept a bit to put in a pendant and

 now I am glad I didn't.  It took me

two years to get it done, and I

couldn't bear to go another

winter without finally doing it.

It was a perfect day and I

remember thinking "Dang, Mom

would have really loved to

be out on this boat". 

Which I guess she was.  :o)



All Is Well
Death is nothing at all,
I have only slipped into the next

 room I am I and you are you.
Whatever we were to each other,

 that we are still.
Call me by my old familiar name,
Speak to me in the easy way which

you always used
Put no difference in your tone,
Wear no forced air of solemnity

or sorrow
Laugh as we always laughed at

the little jokes we enjoyed together.
Play, smile, think of me, pray for me.
Let my name be ever the

 household word that it always was,
Let it be spoken without effect,

 without the trace of shadow on it.
Life means all that it ever meant.
It it the same as it ever was,

 there is unbroken continuity.
Why should I be out of mind

because I am out of sight?
I am waiting for you, for an interval,

 somewhere very near,
Just around the corner.
All is well.

--- Henry Scott Holland
1847-1918

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I had a little card that someone

had given me that I think

had a lovely sentiment about

someone's passing, but I could

not find it anywhere!   I moved

it about a year ago and I have

hundred's of little places I

tuck things into, but I guess I

missed one !   So I went online

and found the above and below

poems that I am sure my Mom

would have liked.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I AM NOT HERE

Don't stand by my grave and weep,
For I am not there, I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am the diamond glint of snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain.
I am the gentle autumn's rain.
When you awaken in the morning,

 hush.
For I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circle flight.
I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not stand by my grave and cry.
I am not there, I did not die.

--- Hopi Grief Song/Prayer

 This is one of the last photos

 I have of my Mother and I.

  It is a bit grainy as I took a

 picture of the photo.

Actually all of the photos

on this post are taken that way.

Taken when I was about a year old.

When I come to the end of the day
And the sun has set for me,
I want no rites in a gloom-filled room
Why cry for a soul set free?
Miss me a little, but not too long
And not with your head bowed low.
Remember the love we once shared,
Miss me but let me go.
For this is a journey we all must take
And each must go alone.
It's all a part of the maker's plan,
A step on the road to home.
When you are lonely and sick at heart,
Go to the friends we know,
And bury your sorrows in doing good deeds -
Miss me, but let me go.

from http://www.motivateus.com/