“And this is life eternal, that they may know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou has sent.” John 17:3

I’ve been blessed two times in my life with the opportunity to return a tiny bit of the care and service a parent gave to me. Six years ago, my dad had a stroke, very unexpectedly, and my two sisters and I spent his remaining few weeks, physically and emotionally taking care of him and reminding him it wasn’t a burden, but a gift, to serve him. I’ll forever be thankful for that special, though painful, time and the lessons I learned about love. Now, quite unexpectedly again, we’ve been granted the opportunity to tend our mother in her final days on earth. We’re blessed with time to share the precious and spiritual moments that come when Heaven draws close.

Both Mom and Dad were concerned for us, that we had to take on the difficult task of caring for someone no longer able care for themselves. Those who once provided for us, and diligently attended our every need, felt sorrow at asking us to do the same for them, in their need. As children becoming adults, we learn to be independent, which is a good thing, but we usually aren’t taught how to gracefully accept that the circle of life generally leads to the independent once again becoming weak and dependent. It requires humility and perspective of the plan—the sweet plan of our Father in Heaven—which allows us the opportunity to return, in a small way, the years of sacrifice and service of a loving parent.

“Even after years of teaching and hearing lessons on serving others and accepting service, we found that to actually let someone help us was difficult to do. But, as we allowed them to help us, we soon found our hearts full of thanks for their thoughtfulness.

“…Is it hard to give? Yes. It’s a sacrifice on someone’s part. Is it difficult to receive? Yes. But we love those who serve us and those we may serve.” JoAnn Randall

One day, in caring for my mom, I was bending over the bed, rubbing cream on her feet. For some reason, when she became very distressed, her feet began to itch unbearably, adding to her discomfort. After a particularly difficult evening, after she was settled and feeling better, I got out the cream to try to alleviate further irritation of her feet.  As I gently massaged the cream into her cold, dry feet, gently rubbing each small toe, I distinctly felt the Savior whisper to my aching heart, “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these…ye have done it unto me.” As the tears flowed, I suddenly realized that although I received joy from serving my sweet mother, the thought that I was also serving my Jesus filled me with eternal gratitude. That He accepted my small acts of love to my mother as acts of love to Him, blessed me with a peace and joy I can’t express.

There are times in life when every day, every moment, is so intense, it feels like it will never get better, never pass. Of course, It always eventually does. Every woman who’s ever had a baby knows that feeling, near the end, that “This baby is never going to come and I’m going to be pregnant and miserable the rest of my life.” But eventually the time always arrives. During those times, we often think of the trial, or the difficult part, as something that keeps us from our lives: a distraction, a hurdle, a period where time seems to stand still and our “normal” life is put on hold. Recently a wise and cherished friend texted me, “This is life. You are living it! One breath at a time. One moment at a time you are getting it done.” She then expressed her love for me, her support. I’ve thought of those words every day. This time of caring for my dying mother is not something that’s keeping me from my life.  This is my life, and I’m living it, and learning, and loving, and, because of these, often excruciating, experiences, I’m drawing closer to my beloved Savior.

“The Lord has said, ‘If thou lovest me thou shalt serve me,’ and we serve Him by serving others.

“As we serve, we draw closer to God. We come to know Him in ways that we otherwise might not. Our faith in Him increases. Our problems are put into perspective. Life becomes more satisfying. Our love for others increases, as well as our desire to serve. Through this blessed process, we become more like God, and we are better prepared to return to Him.” Carl B. Cook