A Resurrection Story

My mother often wound up in the hospital during the last decade of her life. She had good health insurance and a good many ailments, and she generally outstayed two or three hospital roommates.

One afternoon she got a new roommate, her third. But not for long, I thought. Because this one was about to die. The tiny grey-haired woman, whom I'll call Mrs. Anderson, was sleeping the far distant sleep of the almost-dead. I have never seen a person more clearly under the shadow of death. She had left this planet in her mind, and her body was about to follow.

An aide brought her dinner and tried to shake her awake. Her oxygen tubes and IV tubes rattled, but she gave no response: he might as well have shaken a doll.

When I came back the next morning, my mother had no breakfast platter, as she was scheduled for a test that required an empty stomach. Mrs. Anderson had acquired a breakfast platter and a daughter who was trying to get her to eat from it. But Mrs. Anderson's eyelids didn't even flicker. She was still far from us, waiting in the anteroom of heaven.

Finally the daughter disappeared. Maybe she's Catholic, I thought, and she's gone for a priest to administer the last rites.

Turned out she'd done no such thing.

She'd gone to the airport and brought back her two sisters. And now there were three of them, all tall, slender, and blonde, all with a family likeness. And all attempting to resurrect their mother from the almost-dead.

"Mom? It's Deb. I flew clear from El Paso, just as soon as I heard."

No response.

"It's Connie. I've come to be with you. I love you, Mom. Please, please just open your eyes and look at me."

No response.

"Just look at me. Please. Please." Her voice was shaking.

Mrs. Anderson's eyes flickered just for a moment, then closed again.

One of the daughters disappeared. She returned an hour later laden with food. She had obviously hit a grocery store and hit it hard. Now they had their own grocery store. I wished my mother could have something from it, for lunchtime had come and gone, she had received no lunch tray, and the orderlies still hadn't come to take her to her test.

The Anderson daughters continued to struggle. "Mom? How about some mandarin oranges? You know you love mandarin oranges. Num num. Or a doughnut? Just one bite? It's chocolate frosted." No response. Her eyelids didn't flicker.

Why don't they leave the poor woman to die in peace? I thought.

"We need you, Mom. We love you. You can get well." But Mrs. Anderson was far from us. The shadow of death lay over her, thick and dark.

Silence fell. I glanced over at her. One of her daughters had climbed into bed with her. She was snuggled up like a snuggly spoon, cradling her mother's back in her young, warm bosom. One arm was over her mother, holding her close. She was willing her warm, loving life into her mother's almost dead bones.

Now there's an idea, I thought. And tears came to my eyes.

The hours of the afternoon dragged by. My mother lay uncomplaining as I went repeatedly to the nurses' station. Yes, they said, her name was on the list of those to be picked up for a test.

Two o'clock, three o'clock. Poor Mother had eaten no breakfast or lunch, and soon it would be too late for a dinner tray.

Four o'clock. Still the Anderson daughters crooned to their mother, talked to her, held her hand, stroked her hair. And took turns climbing into the hard, narrow hospital bed, snuggling up to her, and holding her tight in loving arms.

Her eyes were open now, as she lay there.

At four-thirty the orderlies came for my mother. She and I spent the next two and a half hours in the bowels of the hospital. Mother was unable to talk because of a stroke, and I stayed close to give her medical history to the imaging test technicians.

At seven they wheeled Mother back into her hospital room. And while we were gone a resurrection had taken place.

Mrs. Anderson was sitting up in bed, her eyes open, a smile on her face. Beside her bed were her daughters and, of course, the grocery store. Plus the remains of a dinner tray, which she had apparently sampled.

I was delighted for the Anderson daughters. Then my mind returned to my own mother. "She hasn't eaten for more than twenty-four hours!" I told the nurse indignantly. "And now it's too late for a dinner tray."

Then the Anderson daughters kicked in. "We've got lots of food over here!" they said joyously. They did indeed.

We settled on crackers and peanut butter from the nurses' station and a banana from the Anderson daughters. While Mrs. Anderson beamed on us from her bed.

"I was pretty sick for awhile there," she told me with an embarrassed smile. "But the girls said they needed me." She gave a loving look to her daughters.

"We do, Mom. We need you! You're going to get well." And they returned her loving look.

When I arrived the next day, Mrs. Anderson, her daughters, and her groceries were all gone, and an aide was putting fresh sheets on her empty bed.

"What happened to Mrs. Anderson?" I asked the aide, a new one who had witnessed none of the drama of the day before.

"Her? She was released this morning."

"She was well enough to go home?"

"Apparently. The doctor thought so anyway."

As a little girl on a Montana farm, Janette Blackwell ate simple but lusciously delicious country cooking. Which food she brings to you in her storytelling cookbook, STEAMIN' DOWN THE TRACKS WITH VIOLA HOCKENBERRY. Her website, http://www.foodandfiction.com, brings you country cooking and nostalgic stories, while, at http://www.delightfulfood.com, she takes you on a personal, guided tour of the hidden culinary treasures of the Internet. E-mail her at Janette@foodandfiction.com

---

A New Strategy

Direct Answers - Column for the week of November 3, 2003My mother-in-law drives me crazy! She is an antisocial, critical, know-it-all who can't find anything decent to say about anyone but herself. Every... Read More

Arranging Stepping-Stones

The greatest achievements were obtained by those who took one step after the next. They resolved to succeed, and moved little by little toward a worthwhile goal.Temporary obstacles in one situation are very... Read More

20 Ways To Improve Your Life

People often ask me how they can improve their lives.I always give them very specific advice on simple things they can do to create a radical shift in their experience of life.Here are... Read More

Supercharge Your Dreams!

We all accept the fact that the lighter the backpack, the easier and quicker the climb to the top of the mountain. We all understand that the lighter the load on an airplane,... Read More

Who is My Mother?

Text: Matthew 12:46-50, Mark 3: 31-35, Luke 8:19Mother's Day has passed. All the dinners have been served, flowers and gifts delivered. The question remains- Who is My Mother?In the gospels of Matthew, Mark,... Read More

You Can Make a Difference

When I study of world these days, I see a lot of despair, and hopeless. There are countless problems that our society faces such as war, the degradation of the environment, and crimeHowever,... Read More

Trust the Lord and Go to The Hole

This is my new favorite quote. Now to understand it you must know what "go to the hole" means. Go to the hole is a basketball term for going forcefully to the basket... Read More

Five Reasons To Journal

Keeping a journal during the coaching process is one of the most simple and effective aids a client can use. Below you will find five reasons why I encourage my clients to use... Read More

Abused as a Child

Child abuse is a much more common event, than is usually expressed in public. I recently attended an event, where people were asked to discuss their darkest secrets. Out of the thirty or... Read More

Life Goes On

Boy, do I feel old. Or at least older.No, I didn't just have a birthday (well, it was last month). I am thirty-seven years old. No, my oldest child just had a birthday... Read More

The Angels on My Path

I'm leaving on a TV tour in a few weeks. I'm going to be on the road. This is my second one and I'll visit TV news stations all over the country talking... Read More

Charge Your Imagination (2)

As year 2004 winds up and professionals and corporate bodies plot strategies for business excellence in 2005 and beyond, it is time to put their Imagination to real work. In the first part... Read More

Computers and Internet: Inspiring Us to Create

The Internet is sometimes criticized (usually by parents who think their kids need to be outdoors more often) as leading people to be sitting in front of their computers all day growing bulbous,... Read More

Moment of Grace

The bedrock of the Christian faith is the good news about God's love. Christian teachings about who we are and about our relationship with our Lord and each other is rooted in the... Read More

An Extraordinary Person

I am not going to tell you the story of an extraordinary person, who did remarkable things in life. Why should I? Are you not an extraordinary person? What do you think about... Read More

Just Let ?Em Go!

I remember when I was just a little guy probably about 4 or 5 years old, I was fascinated by snakes. Not any particular type of snake ? just snakes in general. I... Read More

Keeping Your Attitude Up When Circumstances Are Down

Everyone knows that a positive attitude is key to the successful life. But what happens when things go wrong? What happens when circumstances deal us a blow? We have a tendency to let... Read More

The Fighting Father

This man is an Anglican priest but with a difference. You would not want to offend him put it that way. His online ministry helps to serve the community of street youth homeless/drug-addicted/criminal... Read More

The Serpents Genesis 1 and 2

Not long after the beginning a being fell from the heavens to the earth. Even as the Spirit of God hovered overhead, the Serpent swam the waters below. As light divided from darkness,... Read More

Harsh Reality

Direct Answers - Column for the week of August 25, 2003My wife and I married eight years ago. One month into our marriage she was diagnosed with a non-life threatening form of muscular... Read More

Remember The Titans --Let Them Never Forget...

In the popular movie, "Remember the Titans" most of us most likely can recall our favorite scene. Do you remember this one?The first challenge of the coach was to get the community to... Read More

Does Your Childhood Hold You Back?

Have you come to a point in your life and got stuck and unable to move on?I've been shocked recently to discover how many women and men have suffered one trauma or another... Read More

Create 10 Delightful Daily Habits

Practising extreme self-care in our life involves practising good "daily" habits. Daily habits involve more than just exercising and eating right. They include all the things that bring us enjoyment and delight.Having ten... Read More

I Believe in You!

Ally Becker came home from school after Varsity basketball practice and was extremely gleeful. She looked frantically for her Father and walked into the kitchen, the laundry room and finally the living room.... Read More

Turning Your Life Over To God and Trusting Him To Lead You Is Like . . . . .

. . . . . riding a roller coaster for the very first time. You've heard things about roller coaster rides, but what you heard depended on who was doing the telling. From... Read More

Everyone Has Been Hurt...Part 3

Continued....When I turned 18 years old, I met a new guy, I actually went to school with him when we met. I dropped out of school my senior year, guess why?? Because he... Read More

A Lifetime In Love

We let ourselves love but are afraid to say I love you. We constantly allow our emotions to run deep but why do we hold back on our sweet sensations and tingling feelings?Sometimes... Read More

Why Anyone Can Be Prosperous

In nature, when the season is right, all things flourish and overflow with abundance.Similarly, any person can also benefit from the abundance of the creative force in life, the quantum soup from which... Read More

Your World Your Way - Trusting Yourself In Business

"It doesn't interest me who you are, or how you came to be here. I want to know if you will stand in the centre of the fire with me and not shrink... Read More