A Tribute to God for My Beloved Mom “T
he multitude in heaven pray for the rest of us, inspire us by their example, and remain present to us in ways to which we know not. This faith community stretches beyond time and space.“ I am ocean away from you dear mom. I take care of elders and find comfort knowing God will take care of you in how I take care of those who come my way. Deep in my heart I have always prayed to God to grant that I be with you when the Good Lord says you completed your journey here on earth. At 3 pm my time, I know it will be your waking hours soon for you to pray, I will sneak a good morning cheer through text whenever I can. At 7’ o clock pm to midnight, I check your line if you’re active so we can talk. How you are feeling, what are you having for breakfast or lunch, what’s your agenda for the day and whatever we want to share. Then you will say that you’re ready to exercise which I am happy to lead you, I am so glad when I see you perk up to move and follow the steps. Then we would finish it with silly singing and slow dancing together. Sometimes when you are not up to exercise, we will sing, you outdo me with all the Marian songs, you know so many. There is this one song I must hear again that you sang with so much gusto. Early this year, I have learned from our church how to sing ‘Salve Regina’ and when I started singing this, I saw you were surprised and joined me with heartfelt joy, it became our 50 November 2021
song. You would finish the song with a phrase that I could only respond to with Amen, then you smile. I yearned so much to come home alone to be with you since the last time I was with you was in 2019. I texted to you in July that I will be home in mid-September, you gave me a thumbs up. Your monthly doctor’s appointments say that there’s not much of any concern regarding your health, except with normal aging nutritional needs. Two weeks before you left, I conversed with Lola (grandma), telling her how much I love you and I asked her to make sure you are happy and to take care of you if I am not enough. I also remember praying to God deeply to free you from any illness and if you must get sick from this Covid, to just take you in His arms. In our phone conversations you would talk about your neighbors how they would be sick with Covid and were taken to the hospital to die alone in fear. Your companion recalls how you visited friends and busied yourself with taking care of papers those two weeks before God took you. You attended mass, visited friends and ate a good meal on your last day. God must have heard my prayer, because you sent me a picture of Grandma those two weeks.
I did not think anything of it until after you completed your journey. Those two weeks, our hearts were talking and connecting more in prayers despite our distance. You whispered many thoughts to my heart that would only be coming from you. I continued my days and routines with peace and prayerful heart because you have always raised me in prayers. In the early morning at 4 am two days before the day of your leaving, I was awakened by loud thump to what seemed to be a thick, big
wooden door, five times. I did not think much of it but told myself if it happens again then I will wake my husband. It happened again five times, the rhythmic loud thump to a big thick wooden door. On the day of, it was the first Friday and I felt the need to go to church and so I went to the 8 o’clock mass. I remember waking up with a sense of undeniable peace and a grateful heart for a deep sleep that I seldom get. The day went on as I attended to my tasks at hand easily except for some interfering thoughts of someone trapped within four walls but can see sky and a query of, if the person can survive. I thought yes, it is a known military tactic and mental game to stay alive as long as he/she can see the sky, he/she will survive. The day’s event included a visit from a committed devout Catholic couple traveling from
