As many of you know, our mom (Hattie Davis) has Alzheimer’s so I make it a point to travel to Garysburg, North Carolina as much as possible to spend time with her, helping to take care of her which allows my sister (Brenda) to have a much needed respite break. Despite the Alzheimer’s, I continue to see glimpses of my mother’s true nature……she attempts to make sure the table is cleared after a meal, attempts to wash the dishes although I have to support her while she stands and walks, and on occasion she sets me straight about what she will and won’t do!!! I see God in her because of her loving, peaceful and yes ultimately surrendering spirit …and who all of her caretakers exclaim that she is the best person that they have ever worked with!!! I also see God in all of us as siblings as we work in a very collaborative fashion to ensure that Mom’s every need is taken care of….involving love, caring and support of each other and on-going communication and understanding that WE MUST ALL DO OUR PART. I see God so clearly in all these circumstances which have brought us closer together as siblings.
I am reminded of the movie I have seen many times…. “The Count of Monte Cristo”, a 2002 adventure drama. The film is an adaptation of the book of the same name by Alexandre Dumas, Dumas’s father was a French nobleman and his mother was an enslaved African woman. In essence, Alexandre Dumas was “A BROTHER”. It follows the general plot of the novel of wrongful imprisonment and revenge of the main character, Edmond Dantés, Second Mate of a French merchant vessel. At one point after years of wrongful imprisonment, he is reconnected to his lost love who subsequently married his best friend because she was told that Edmond had died. Also an important fact is that she learned that she was pregnant with Edmond’s child…..so for societal reasons during this era she could by no means be a “single mother” or what we may now call “a baby’s mama”. At this meeting, he asked her, his lost love: “Where was God when I was rotting in prison all those years?” And, she replies “GOD IS EVERYWHERE…even in a kiss!!” God is Everywhere in all our Triumphs, Trials, and Tribulations!!
So, I leave you with three (3) Bible Verses illustrating this point…….
1 John 4:12 No one has seen God at anytime; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us.
Matthew 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Psalms 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.