Worn Out Parts

We're used to seeing cars, computers and other mechanical things wear out with age. In most cases, if you're really attached to something, like an old car, you can spend money and restore it. In many cases, the value of restored classic cars far exceed their original value.

With humans, there's really not much that can be done when we reach the end of our road. When I sit next to my mother's bed, it's disturbing to see what disease and age have done to this marvel of a woman. Completely gone is the outer beauty she showed well into her 50s. Her disease has made her difficult to look at by those who remember her in her prime.

Death must come to us all. The decaying of an aging body is tough to witness. I remember as a teenage flower delivery boy in high school, I hated making deliveries to the convalescent homes. It always broke my heart to see scores of people who had outlived the normal functioning of their bodies, and even their minds. I remember each time, no matter which hospital, there would be at least one person wheeled right up to the front window looking out, wishing they could be free to do what their bodies would no longer allow.

I look at my mom. A prisoner in her own, failing body. Even with her mind fogged up by powerful pain medication, she told me she wished she could do something for me. She felt bad that I just sat there "mommysitting" her. A bit later, she asked me if I thought my 49 year old brother would be OK without her. I assured her he would.

I know in her own way, she's making sure all her Ts are crossed. Even though she's been unable to do anything for us for many years, her heart has never accepted what her body has kept her from doing. Taking care of her men.

I do my best to assure her that her job here is done. She's done a marvelous job, and to this day, she touches and blesses the hearts of people who come to know her. While I'm in no hurry for her to leave, I also don't want her to hang on unnecessarily thinking she is letting us down or that she hasn't done enough.

Amazing. She's like that beat up old car with everything falling apart on it, but an engine that just won't quit. And despite it all, her value is increasing more and more, until she experiences her fullest potential at the feet of Jesus in eternity.