Mom and Home revisited

Following is something I wrote 6 years ago after my mom had passed from this life. I thought I would share this today. 

 I learned many things from my mom over the years. My

mom gave me one great piece of advice about the time I
got married. A great piece of knowledge I’ll carry with me
the rest of my life. It was simply- don’t go to bed angry.

Ephesians 4:26 Be angry and do not sin;
do not let the sun go down on your anger,

She taught me to never hold on to my anger. Anger is
something that can tear a person up from the inside out,
letting that anger go is the best thing you can do for
yourself.

I originally didn’t plan on bringing up cancer, as I wanted to
focus on the good in mom’s life. But there is a cancer that
she never let overtake her. That is the cancer of selfishness.
Selfishness is the cancer that destroys relationships. If you
have a relationship in which one or both parties exhibit selfish
attitudes that relationship will struggle and ultimately fail. My
parents made it through 60 years of marriage and that
doesn’t mean life was easy. Marriage takes work and mom
did her share of the work to keep their marriage working.
Mom was a person that cared about people and she lived
that out throughout her life.

Home

People associate the term home with a place that they
live. Growing up I lived in 6 different houses all in north
Topeka. I relate the word home to my mom. She was
what home meant to me. She was always there as I was
growing up- and as an adult still in the process of growing
up. She was there for baseball games, basketball games,
and any other activity I was involved in.

We spent many vacations together.  Whether we were in
Topeka or any other place around the country- wherever
mom was it felt like home. We could be in the San Luis
Valley Colorado and it was home. We could be in a
house on Lake Superior and it was home. We could be
in a house in Fraser, Colorado and it was home. She
was a caring person that made sure you always felt at
home.

Family reunions were always a big part of life. The
Sowards reunions always moved from place to place-
the aunts and uncles took turns hosting the reunions. We
could be in Arizona or Utah one year and in Branson
Missouri the next- even though no one lived there- Uncle
Cline liked it there so much that he picked it for a family
reunion. The Broadbents had their share of reunions also
but they were usually local. Because of that Garfield
Park is always a place I will relate to mom and family.

I grew up in different houses but an address that I
associate with as much as the others is 410 E Lyman. I
spent weekends, holidays, and many other occasions
here. And mom was always part of it. Whether running
around the yard as part of a water fight or sitting at the
table playing cards- this place was a huge part of
growing up and mom as always- was involved there also.
I bring this address up and I always think of my
grandparents- and when I think of them I can’t help but
think of mom. I see traits in my mom from each of her
parents.

My children look at 1938 NE Jefferson as my parents
home in the same way I look at the house on Lyman.
But without people there is no home. Focus on the
people and not the place. Home is only important when
people are there.

    The past week has caused me to think back to some events
in my life- events others in this room share with me.I think
back to when grandma Broadbent passed away more than
23 years ago. It was a difficult time and I didn’t know how to
get through a death of someone so close to me. I had spent
so much time with her. My thoughts were centered around
how hard this was and how much more difficult it would be
when grandpa passed away.I spent much time with him as
well. Grandpa passed away and somehow I got through it.
Fast forward to this year and the same thoughts came out
again. After my dad’s passing I thought when mom passed
how would I get through it? In each of these people my
relationship was close, and I had a closer relationship with
each passing one. Is there purpose in this progression? Did
God prepare me before hand to deal with each of these loses
as they came along?

    Jesus Christ overcame death and faith in Him will get me
through this. I’ve talked about what home has meant to me.
Home now focuses as it has before not on a place but still a
person- Jesus Christ. My faith in Him that gave His life for
mine is what will get me through this. Christ not only gave
His life for me, but for every person here. And we can take
comfort in that knowledge.

1 Peter 5:7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.