The Sunset

By Fu Li Show

That morning I went to the nursing home to see my 94 years old mother, I told her, "Mom, this afternoon I will go to Taipei then get on the airplane to go back to New York. I will see you again next year." She responded immediately, "I will pray for you. May God give you a safe trip to go back to New York! May He give you strength to do his work..." I touched her cheeks and held her hands to pray together. My eyes were wet. It was due to thankfulness and not being able to leave her.

When I walked toward the door, she called me loudly, "Li-Show, may God bless you. May He be with you all the way and give you peace!" I looked back toward the raised blessing hand. She had more than 10 old people sitting beside her. At the time, I was not able to control the tears in my eyes. Mom had a stroke about two and half years ago. She lost her health and became very forgetful. For instance, you need to ask her whether she has taken the medicine for several times to make sure that she knows what she is talking about. Except for families, she forgets who has come to visit her quickly. But she never forgets about thanking the Lord before meals. She told me that every night before she went to bed, she would pray for her six children. Prayer has become a very important habit in her life. Those days when I visited her, she recited Palm 23 and the Lord's prayer with me. Many bible verses are still in her memory.

I remember when I was in high school. My third elder brother had severe flu. It was tuning into pneumonia. I saw Mom kneel in front of bed to pray for him in tears: "Lord, please heal my son or let me be sick for him..." When we face difficulties, mom would pray to God.

She has never attended school. She is illiterate but she could use Roman Pin-Yin to study the Bible. The scenes with her praying and studying the Bible are deeply impressed in my mind.

Once every week, there are people coming to Mother's nursing home to sing praise songs and preach to the sick old people. One day, I was there. I heard someone asked mom, "Do you know where you will be going after you die?" I was afraid that Mother might get upset. But she happily responded, "I know. I will be going to the Lord."

There is an old lady who loves to talk to my mother. Several times, I heard their conversation: "My hand hurts. I could not sleep because of the pain." "Then you need to pray." "But I don't know how. Can you pray for me?" "Sure. Dear heavenly father...." So even in this place that many people have no hope, my mother is still full of trust to pray to the Lord.

When the workers get off. My mother would always say to them: "Have a safe trip home! May God bless you!"

Mother is very content and thankful. She told me, "People here are very nice to me. Your brother and sister-in-law are good. They come to chat with me every day. They cook delicious fish soup for me..." I told her, "I am no good since I only come to visit you once a year." She said, "New York is so far away. To come back is not easy."

Mother is not a perfect person. She had no opportunity to go to school when she was young. She followed my father to raise the family. Her life has never been rich until we all graduated from school. Hard life plus some complicated relative relationship created some painful memory that was not easy for her to forget. Those days when I accompanied Mom in the nursing home, I had some deep reflections: "If she had no Lord, her hard life would have had no meaning. Also when a person gets old, her health, position, money and relationship all get lost, what is left?

She needs to sit on the wheel chair. Her memory is disappearing. She has no delicious food for three meals daily. She has left her comfortable home. She has no children to accompany her at all time. She has no dignity since she is sick all the time. She cannot go to church to have worship. She has lost too much. What else does she have left or own, for a ninety-four years old woman?"

I can never forget the scene that morning: Her blessing hands, her words of blessing. I see in her: thankfulness, praying and blessing to other. These three things make her shine even though her physical body is withering. I think all these could be left forever.

The author is a pastor's wife. She now resides in Queens, New York City.