A little bit of green running through my veins

Recently while driving my oldest to do some errands at Lowe's (I've got to train him about housework sometime :) ) he requested a CD that I'd not listened to in a long time. It is one of Irish Folk music, and it was a favorite of my mother before she died. In the Fall of 2000 I took my family down south to visit my mom and brother and his family for Thanksgiving. We spent a few days traveling and visiting, one of which included a trip to Kevin Barry's Pub in Savannah Georgia. My mother was disappointed to find out that there was no live performances scheduled for that evening, but we had a great time anyway. The time came and we made the 12 hour trek back north that Sunday. On Tuesday I get a call from my brother telling me that mom was in the hospital (long story, but she had pretty bad lung problems) and that it did not look good. Well, my family has a history of shall we say, "expanding upon the truth". Especially when it came to medical issues. I basically told him that I appreciated the heads up, but I did not make any plans to make another trip back down right away. I get another call the very next day from my brother telling me that the doctors are telling him she only has a few more days. I basically told him that I wanted to talk to the doctors before I made such a trip again. To my brother's credit he did not get upset with me, hung up, tracked down the doctor's telephone number - the hospital's telephone number - and the extension for the nurses station, and called me back. Things being what they were it took me until Thursday to get an understanding of how grave my mother's condition really was. The next day I packed up the family for yet another 12 hour trip, our 3rd in 8 days. I am so grateful to God that I got there when I did. She got to see the entire family and we visited for about 15 minutes before her pain meds put her to a comfortable sleep. To make this long story shorter, I was able to visit with her over the next couple of days. On one occasion I was reading to her out of Romans - not sure why I chose that book - and in the middle my then sister-in-law came in. Talked about some sort of new age philosophy. It just felt like my skin crawled, but after she left I asked my mom if she new there was a difference between what she was talking about, and what I believed and was talking about. All my mom could muster was a slight nod of the head, and when I asked if she wanted me to keep reading she nodded again. That was the last communication I ever had with her. Over the next few days she struggled to keep going, and to keep our minds off of the innevitable my brother and I took our families back to Kevin Barry's. This time there was a live band - and to my discredit I cannot remember the name. It was solomn, but we enjoyed ourselves again and I purchased the CD mentioned above. I will listen to it again from time to time, and the time just before my son asked for it it brought tears to my eyes as I remembered those dinners. My son told me last night, "I like this music. It makes me feel, I don't know, comfortable in a wierd way." I smilled and put it in for him. Verse for today: Revelations 21:1-8 esv Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”