5/20/15
“Because he-e Lives I can face tomorrow…..” I cringed at mom’s rather off-key rendition of the classic hymn. I looked over as she grasped the open Hymnal to her heart, eyes closed.
I rolled my eyes. Mom sure knows how to embarrass me. Why does she sing so loudly?? And at church at that.
Because He Lives was mom’s favorite hymn. She’d sing while cleaning or doing the dishes. Or even on road trips. No one sang that song quite like mom. She even changed the words.
“How sweet to hold a newborn baby and feel the pride and joy she gives.”
It would never fail. A whole congregation could sing “he” but mom, she always had to sing “she.”
I asked her one day, “Mom, why do you change the words of that song?”
She put her arm on my shoulder and pulled me in for a hug.
“Rachel, I’ve never had a boy. I don’t know that joy. But I know the joy that you and your sister brought me when you were born.”
I remember her warm embrace and the memories of that day. My mind snaps back to reality…..
Things are different. Mom is sick. Cancer. Hospice. Now I kneel by her bed grasping her hand, singing her favorite song, for the last time with her.
“And then as death, gives way to victory,” My voice trembles. “I’ll see the lights of glory and I’ll know He lives.”
Days pass.
Then, Victory for Mom!
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Next, I stand at the front of the church where mom has sung off-key so many times. This time, “Because He Lives” seems almost bitter. Tears streak down my face as I can barely muster the words….I blink my eyes trying to keep myself from crying….but my surroundings are making it difficult. Casket down front. Church packed with loved ones.
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And now, I sit at the piano, five years later. The congregation is singing “Because He Lives.” Tears moisten my eyes. It will never be the same without mom’s off-key grandeur. But I can’t hear the song without pondering how God has used it in my family’s life since mom’s homegoing.
Dad, as a Hospice Chaplain, has sang this song to countless patients, encouraging them that they can take each day as it comes “Because He lives.”
My sister is pursuing a degree in Christian Counseling, which is out of her comfort zone, but “Because He Lives, all fear is gone.”
And I received Christ as my Savior, finally letting go of my pride and fear. It was through the loss of my mom that God got ahold of my heart. I can now say that “Because He Lives, I can face tomorrow.”
After playing the last chord, I dab at my eyes, and thank God for the reminder of His faithfulness during the difficult times of change. He’s alive and that’s never going to change!
throughchelslens.com 