Category Archives: Friendship

Mary’s Light

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The days before someone moves from earth to heaven are sacred ones, and Mary is in the middle of this remarkable time. Because she is, her family is there, too. God’s close presence is evident in her calm, quiet demeanor, and the rest of us are taking our cues from her. Coming close to the most spectacular life-event she will ever experience has not unnerved her at all. That’s because she’s completely ready.

Although Mary has become quiet and spends most of her time sleeping, she still has a will to greet her loved ones with a gentle smile when they enter the room, giving each a few loving words as they do. She’s in no pain and needs meds only to hold off nausea and get solid sleep at night. But even as her body loses its battle with disease, her face grows more beautiful by the day.

Mary’s grown children, nieces, and nephews have been a steady presence, making meals, doing laundry, and encouraging one another. But her 11 grandchildren have been kept at bay. That’s because most are very young, and little people bring noise, commotion, and a general hubbub.

peterson-grands

But that hasn’t stopped these grands from sending a stream of words and drawings to encourage their grandma, the older ones describing in words what she means to them. As this person whom they adore so much becomes quieter, their messages of love become louder. And more descriptive:

  • You are my hero.
  • I love how you love candy and gum.
  • I love all the things you do and the person you are.
  • You have an amazing, godly heart that leads people to God.
  • You have all the right in the world to freak out, but you are calm and faithful.
  • In my mind you are super-grandma.
  • You make me think anything is possible. You make me want to run a 10,000 mile run, and I hate running!
  • Even though your troubles are big, you still are positive and love others and God.
  • Your heart is filled with joy, and you spread that joy to me.
  • You love when you are at your darkest days.
  • I love how you love the game of baseball.
  • You are very generous.
  • I will always and forever love you, even if you’re not here.
  • You’ve made me a strong Christian.
  • You mean so, so, so, so, so, so, soooo much to me.
  • You’ve been a light in the world, showing all the traits of a godly woman.
  • God has used you in so many ways in his plan.
  • You like to give gum to people from your car of wonders.
  • I will never, ever stop loving you.

And one more, my personal favorite:

  • Grandma, you are like a flashlight in a world full of darkness.

This grandmother has done a good job “shining for the Lord” in front of her grands, and they’ve all seen this light in her. A while back she told me that her greatest concern in leaving them is not being able to continue coaxing them toward Jesus.

One of her older grandchildren wrote out Isaiah 14:27 for her, which says nothing can stop God’s plan for a person’s life. And apparently his plan is that Mary’s life, including her godly glow as a grandma, will soon end. Yet her influence will shine for decades to come.

When Mary was asked if she had any prayer requests, her whispered answer was consistent with the rest of her life: “Pray that I’ll finish strong and give all the glory to God,” a couple of brightly shining requests.

“Prove yourself to be blameless and guileless, innocent and uncontaminated…. in a generation among whom you are seen as a bright [flash] light in a world of darkness.” (Philippians 2:15, loosely translated from the Amplified version)

Developments with Mary

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Seven weeks have passed since I last blogged about my sister Mary’s health. Against all medical odds, she has lived a very full and active life after her diagnosis of pancreatic cancer, feeling tip-top for 2½ years – until last week. 13938379_926581317094_5277760914017539555_nBefore then, she rode her bike to the beach where she built sand sculptures and played games with grandchildren. She even went tubing! She babysat for many of the children and continued to cook big meals and to entertain.     img_4103She had the energy to paint one of her bedrooms, and when the color didn’t turn out quite right, she returned to the store, bought different paint, and painted the whole thing again the next morning. But then last week arrived with a sudden onset of cancer symptoms. What had been occasional weak periods became constant. And it was difficult to sleep at night because she couldn’t get comfortable. Her abdomen filled with fluid, causing shortness of breath and extreme fatigue. She said, “Being short of breath like this gets so intense, I just can’t continue with what I’m doing. Climbing steps without stopping to catch my breath is impossible now.” Both she and her husband Bervin felt the time was right to sign up with the Michigan Hospice at Home group, which is the same organization that helped us so much when Nate was sick. Hospice responded with immediate help for Mary’s sleepless nights (a sleep aid) and her uncomfortable abdomen (a draining of the fluid). They have the desire and the expertise to deal with every symptom she will encounter, and both Mary and Bervin have strong confidence in them. Hospice’s continual question is, “What can we do for you?” Mary and Bervin have chosen to settle-in here in Michigan for the duration, in the cozy cottage where Mary and her family have come since the 1940’s. She’s enjoying the arrival of her favorite season with its cooler temperatures and beautiful trees. “We don’t know what the future holds,” she said today, “but are trusting God to see us through whatever comes.” She expresses continual appreciation for your many faithful prayers and hopes that you’ll continue. But her greatest comfort, even more than Hospice, is God himself. She’s written down her favorite Scriptures to cover any difficult days ahead, and when I asked for a sample, she recited this: You [Lord] will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal. (Isaiah 26:3-4) And here’s a concluding word from Bervin to all of you dear blog readers: img_4102Thank you, friends, for your love and concern for Mary. Some have asked if they could visit, but in the last few days her energy level has lessened substantially, so we are limiting company to family only.  I know how much Mary means to each of you, so please continue to pray for her and our family. As this news gets around, her email inbox has become jammed with messages and questions. Please understand that she cannot answer them all. Cards of encouragement, though, would be greatly appreciated… sent to our Chicago address. Your support and prayers have been such a blessing to us. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Berv, for all of us. The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” (Lamentations 3:22-24)

Preacher Man

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The longer I live, the more I see God as a good Father who loves to gift his children with surprises. And recently he delivered a big one to us.

Nelson with YWAMNelson, our firstborn, has worked in Youth With A Mission (YWAM) for about a decade in a variety of locations and assignments, everything from pie-in-the-face youth activities to complicated teachings. Over the years, he’s also performed weddings, done baptisms, led worship sessions, and preached sermons.

But Part One of God’s Two-Part surprise didn’t begin with any of that. It all started with… a hernia operation.

Nelson had done more than his share of heavy lifting over the years, particularly in his landscaping business, and was badly in need of a repair. So the surgery took place in a small hospital on the island of Hawaii with an expected good result – as long as Nelson agreed not to lift anything heavier than 15 pounds.

Since his position with YWAM included lots of action and some unavoidable lifting, it seemed wise to recuperate away from all that, at his friend Derek’s home off campus. And it was during those 10 days that God unwrapped his surprise.

Derek and familyDerek’s family was in the process of making a big decision during those same 10 days – whether or not to move away from Hawaii to live in Colorado and pursue a worthwhile opportunity there. Derek has pastored a small but famous church on the Big Island for a decade (The Little Red Church) and Nelson has attended whenever possible, subbing in as the preacher now and then, when Derek has been away.

Hashing this over together during Nelson’s post-op days, Derek’s family, Nelson, and God all came to the same conclusion: it was indeed time for the family to move to the Mainland. What happened next surprised us all. I’ll let Nelson tell it:

“As I spent time with them, processing and thinking about how we as believers try to hear from and obey God, the logical question was, ‘Who will pastor the church when you leave?’ And almost as soon as I asked it, I felt a strong impression that it would be me… like God was challenging me to at least be willing.

“So I decided that if it were needed, and if it were possible, I’d do it. I wondered if I’d even qualify – never having been to seminary and not being ordained.”

And that ushered in Part One of God’s surprise, which was that he had prepared Nelson with a ready “yes” to becoming a pastor, if that’s what the Lord wanted. But God wasn’t finished yet.

Since I was already in Hawaii, Derek’s wife Heeran invited me for dinner one night while Nelson was still there recuperating, and Derek presented the surprising development that he was leaving and Nelson might take his place. “So… what do you think?” he said.

(…tomorrow, Part Two of the surprise)

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Do not lean on your own understanding.” (Proverbs 3:5)