memories of my mother + a printable banner in her honor

Just over a year ago I penned a post about my mom. It was a heartfelt post about her life, mainly talking about her inner beauty and the things she taught me most, simply by being the woman God made her to be.
Sadly, that post disappeared (as in vanished off this blog) and I cannot for the life of me find it anywhere. I will not attempt to repeat it as it was written more as therapy for my hurting heart shortly after she passed away. However, I do want to re-share the banner that I made in her honor and in a small way allow her to have a presence here in our little home on the internet.

My Momma was a soft-spoken woman with a strong spiritual presence. She had been through much in her lifetime. She was raised by her German immigrant mother and part Cherokee Indian father in a home that worshipped and honored the One true God. As a young girl, she lost her baby brother to spinal meningitis, was hospitalized for over a month with scarlet fever, and lived through the Great Depression. As a young bride and new mother, she moved back into her parents’, home while her husband served his country. As a mom of 5 children, she faced the sudden death of the love of her life yet proceeded to live out her faith with strength and determination that was beautiful to observe. She, several years later, remarried only to lose that husband after 7 short years of marriage. Despite the trials she faced, if you were to have met my mother you would have had the honor of being touched by her sweet and gentle spirit, absolutely beautiful smile, and encouraging and loving words. Truly, even when in the nursing home with her sight all but gone, there wasn’t a time I visited that I did not have a worker or other resident tell me what a beautiful mother I had, and they were absolutely right.

In my original (now vanished) post, I shared about my Mom’s love for her family and caring for her home. She made our home a place where you wanted to be. Not only by her decorating and homemaking, which she was very gifted at, but also by the presence of joy and peace. I used to think it was the actual home that I grew up in that I was attached to, but I learned as my mom moved into a smaller home, then into an even smaller apartment, and finally into the nursing home, that it was her that made me feel at home. I think that is why, since her passing, I feel even that much more like a foreigner on this earth, as my home is truly in the presence of Jesus, and that is where my mom now resides.

I hope that through sharing this I not only give honor to the life and example that my mom set for me but also encourage you to know that it is not the ‘things’ we do in our homes and in the lives of our children that matter nearly as much as ‘who’ we are. And that who we are has everything to do with ‘Who’ we know. Dwelling in the presence of Jesus is the only way to have His peace and in turn, share that peace with the lives we touch.

Psalm 73:25-26
Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Below is a link to the printable fruit banner I made in her honor. My mom loved to decorate for each season, and she loved fruit! Paintings of fruit, cross-stitched pictures of fruit, fake fruit, real fruit (you get the idea :)!
Fruit Banner

(And as I side note… I cried quite a bit as a re-wrote this post… I guess God knew I needed a bit more ‘therapy’! He is amazing like that!!)