"Your greatest contribution to the Kingdom of God may not be something you do, but someone you raise." ~Andy Stanley

February 28, 2007

The rest of the story

I was telling my hubby about the sweet comments I received to the post I shared remembering my mom and her death and he thought I should 'finish' the story by sharing with you another one of the treasures I have. (besides the memories)

I have a letter from her! It was such a surprise blessing! My dad gave it to me when I was 21. For years I thought that she and I had similar handwriting which I thought was neat, but I later found out she wasn't able to write anymore at that time. She'd dictated it to her sister. Here's what it says:

My Dear Becky,
I love you so much. You mean so much to me. You have been the best little girl in the whole world. I don't know how to write it all down on paper how I feel about you. It hurts me to leave you like this, you are so young. But there are some things in this life that we don't have any control over. And Becky, I believe with all my soul that I am going to meet the Lord. And I believe that is worth anything in the whole world. It's my hope and prayer is that you live (as) faithfully to the Lord as possible, so we can all be together again some day. And Becky you have a good daddy and he loves you very much, and you have Jenny too. There are so many people in your life. Stay close to the ones that love you, take their help, and listen to their advice. Please never forget me. You have been a joy to my heart. Remember all the fun and good times we have had together. Never forget our vacation to Big Basin.
I love you so very much.
Mom

I can't imagine how hard that must have been to write!
It is one of my dearest treasures and is matted, framed and hangs in our bedroom. : )

~Becky

7 comments:

Yvonne said...

What a precious gift...your mom was an amazing lady. ~Yvonne

Anonymous said...

From behind blinding tears, I just want to say,...goodness, I don't really know what to say. I was so deeply moved by your mom's letter. What a golden treasure! Not just receiving it but also what she said. The love and courage it must have taken to "write" it. Do make copies of it to pass on to your own children someday (perhaps with a special letter from you).
Thank you for sharing this, Becky.
It's beautiful!
Blessings,
~Toni~

Liza on Maui said...

I think my previosu comment got lost...

this is a beautiful and sentimental letter. so precious...

Robin Green said...

What a blessing to have that letter--my mom died when I was 19 but she didn't leave a letter--I would have loved that. About TBQ--we have enjoyed it but it is so very different from JBQ--it requires a ton of memorization and you never know what the questions are going to be. We are from a small TBQ program and only have about 5 teams in the whole state. I know that quizzing is big in Florida so I'm not sure what the competition would be like--much more than here. My daughter memorized chapters and chapters of Acts this year. She has also done Matthew, Romans and James. She enjoys it and our team takes a big mission trip every year as a treat. Let me know if you have any specific questions.

Becky said...

What a neat idea, Toni. Thanks for sharing it! I would love to give them a copy of this and one from me.

Becky said...

Thank you Jeanna for the TBQ info. We are hoping to go and see the Districts this weekend and get a feel for it. How awesome that your daughter has memorized so many chapters! What an awesome accomplishment!!!

Treasure Seeker said...

Becky,
I don't know if you will see this, since it is an older post, but I just read the letter your mother sent you. Wow! That you shared that with the world is so special.
My heart has been touched!
Love your blog!
An AG Pastor's Wife