Remembering Momma

Special: adj. unique, prized, valued, treasured. (Lovvorn’s Modern English Dictionary)

On Aug. 15, 2008, Momma went home to be with the Lord. I am filled with sadness each year as the anniversary approaches. But on the actual day, I try to celebrate Mom’s life; it’s what she would’ve wanted. Momma’s motto came from the movie Mame: “Live! Live! Live! Life is a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death!” Flamboyant? Sure. But that was Momma and they were not just words she espoused. They were words she lived by, right up until the time the Lord called her home.

Momma was larger than life. I tell people she was a force of nature. How else could she have survived 15 years of serious illnesses and multiple near-death experiences? Well, that and God’s infinite grace. Momma would want Him to receive credit for she always taught us that God said, “I’ll share my glory with no other.”  (Isaiah 42:8)

There were lots and lots of things Momma taught. She was a natural-born teacher, but one of the most important lessons I learned was simply by observing her. Momma had this extraordinary ability to make everyone she met feel special. Whether she was speaking with a renowned French physician or a movie star whose son she was treating or a critically ill pediatric patient she was caring for or the lady cleaning her room when she was a patient, Momma had the ability to make each one feel as though he or she was the most important person in the world and there was nothing Momma would rather be doing at that moment than talking to him or her.

Momma was known for talking and she could go on and on with lengthy explanations. But what people who really spent time with her learned was she was also a very good listener with a contemplative mind, a deep faith, and heart full of sympathy. I try hard to live out this lesson- how to be a good listener and how to make people feel special. I hope I’m successful and that Momma is proud of me for striving to follow in her footsteps.