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| My
mother wrote a song called "From the Palm of His
Hand To The Promise Land"
a few weeks before she passed
away. This is the events leading to her song and in
her memory. |
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Mother
had suffered from cancer several years before she became
disabled with a serious bone disease. The results of
radiation treatments among other factors, contributed to
the bones in her back breaking as well as her
hip. As her condition became worse, she was
given a prophesy or word from a visiting minister which
she did not fully understand at the time. She was
told that when she became unable to walk, God would
"carry her" and she would go forth in his
strength as well. For about five more years
God helped her walk, even though it was very painful for
her.
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| She
gradually became unable to get around and went into a
Nursing Home for assistance with her daily living. One
of the saddest parts of being there was the fact she could
no longer go out and purchase small gifts for her family on
Christmas, Birthdays, or other occasions. Her
once active life of visiting with friends, playing piano,
and being with others seemed to cease. |
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My
Birthday was nearing and she was sad because she could not
get me a present as she usually did, and each day she
would mention this to us. She would tell of her
childhood memories and other events in her life as she
grew older. One day before my Birthday, I told
my Mom the best gift she could ever give me would be to
write down the stories of all these memories and put them
together for me as a Book of Love . This idea made
her so very happy and she started planning what she would
put in it. She had always loved to draw
and make Christian crafts for the little ones in her
Sunday School Class ;and decorated the store windows with
the Christ Child at Christmas time when she was able to
work.
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friend, Phyllis, went out the next day and bought her
drawing tablets and writing paper and I brought her folders
and pens to use in her new project. She begin to work
night and day on the many stories and memories she wanted to
put in her Book for my 47th Birthday.
While writing her book, she begin to get the words for a
song, called "From the Palm of His Hand To The Promised
Land" as she would pray and God would give them to
her. She wrote these down and called Richard, her dear
friend. He sit down with his guitar beside her hospital bed
and set her song to music, adding words here and
there. Together they completed the song. Her
work was finished. |
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| My
cousin, Judy, and friends Phyllis & Brenda
would come also and cheer her up, and together we would try
to help her make the best of her situation. |
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| When
the day of my Birthday came, she presented me with her
finished book. It was tied with a used ribbon from a
gift someone had given her, and she smiled when she handed
it to me with a Happy Birthday wish. No one could have
ever given me a better present, one that would last a
lifetime. Memories and poems filled the pages, along
with drawings of her childhood home. She had written
of "A Home For the Homeless", where she was
adopted at six weeks of age when her mother passed away. |
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| One
windy March day, I went in for my daily visit and found her
lying quietly and in pain. We had the nurses
call for the Doctor and she was transferred to the
hospital. Later, we found out she had suffered a heart
attack and as a result had congestive heart failure and
kidney failure. |
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Once
again, my mom called for her friend Richard, and asked him
if he would sing the song written.
. Then she asked him if he would sing it at her
funeral. Of course he said yes.
Several days later, early on a Sunday morning, mother went
home to be with the Lord. Just
like God had said, He carried her; "from the palm of
His hand over to the promised land;" just like He had
promised, "as on the wings of an
eagle".
In
Memory of Mother...by J. P. Kelly
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