I remember the day as if it were yesterday. Sitting on a blanket, sprawled out on the grass, in the courtyard of Wartburg Seminary, I sat talking with my dear friends about my Mom. My grandpa had just passed away that August and Grandma was beginning to show early signs of Alzheimers disease. Since my parent’s divorce, Mom’s parents had a pulse on Mom’s medical needs, but now we were at a crossroads. My sister and I knew that Grandma and Grandpa wouldn’t be around forever and Mom still needed to be cared for. We needed to make a decision.

So sitting on that blanket, my friends shared with me their thoughts on the situation after many of them had just complete Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) during the summer months. After much discussion and tons of prayer, it became pretty apparent to my sister and I that we needed to make the decision to become Mom’s legal guardians. It is a decision that my sister and I do not regret. Since making that decision, we are the first contacts they make; even when Mom needs something as simple as a dental check. However it still was not the easiest decision. But a decision I am so glad that we made.

Then last Fall, another decision came about that blessed Mom in many ways. My previous call/job was at a congregation almost five hours away from Mom. If I wanted to attend a Christmas party etc, I would spend most of the day driving only to spend a couple of hours with her. I loved that community of faith that I worked for and it is a place that formed me into the woman leader that I am today. However it was still such a long way from Mom. Yet as a single female, I knew that nothing was tying me down there. I yearn deeply for a husband and a family, so I began to pray, discern and search my heart. I heard God calling me to many new adventures, but God obviously had something else in mind. God brought me to a call that is only 45 minutes from where Mom lives.

I cannot begin to tell you how incredible that it has been to be so close to Mom. For my Birthday, Mom hopped their community bus, I picked her up and we spent the day before my Birthday together, and then the bus picked her up and took her home. So nice that she can come here OR I can drive to her. This past week Mom’s tv broke and she called me to see if I could run to the local Walmart to check and see if they had what she was looking for. The nice thing is once I purchase the tv I can run it to her and I won’t lose a day of travel. I even got to attend their Christmas party last Christmas. These are only just a few of the ways that moving has blessed our life. I still cannot believe it was exactly a year ago today that I told my last call/job that I had accepted a new call and was moving closer to my Momma. It was so hard to say goodbye to them because they simply loved me for who God created me to be, but they also were so understanding of what a gift it was for me to move closer to my Mom.

These are only a few of the decisions that we have had to make regarding Mom and her illness. I am sure there will be more to come as she ages. But as I look back over these decisions, I know that God has been in the midst of them and will always guide us in the decisions we have to make.