From God's Front Porch
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God’s Caretaker
My mother was a very special lady whose heart was filled with an endless love for family and friends. Her smile would bring sunshine into your days, and her laugh brought music to your ears. Her life was never one of ease. Hard work, which was never questioned, occupied her life as she cared for her family. She considered it an honor and privilege to care for those she loved. She was radiantly beautiful inside and out. There were no voiced complaints or sorry feelings as she traveled on life’s roads. God’s plan for her was to be a caretaker who blessed everything and everyone she laid her hands on. Mother was a gentle-spirited woman whose loyalty and devotion was unceasing for those in need. She was blessed with a daughter Carol, who was confronted with special needs. Carol was never able to verbalize her love for mother, but mother found great joy from tending to Carol’s needs that brought healing smiles to both their faces. Her abilities as caretaker also extended to her spouse Robert and ailing mother who fought valiant battles with heart disease. She had unbelievable faith that gave her the grace to withstand the pressures that weighed on her. A son Bob, who died of uncontrolled diabetes, challenged her once again to be God’s caretaker for him. Mother was diagnosed with renal cancer in May of 2004. The only request she had of her God was to be able to survive her sickness long enough to care for her 51 year old daughter Carol. Selfless for her own needs, her Caretaker Jesus Christ summoned her home in November of 2004 having answered her prayers. You see her precious Carol passed away September 2004 just weeks before her own death. Mother knew her work here was finished and died peacefully at home with her loved ones surrounding her. I would like to share what we experienced a few hours before her death. God allowed His earthly caretaker to raise the veil of death and to be greeted by her loved ones on the other side for whom she had so lovingly cared. As she lay dying, her husband Robert, her mother Oda, her son Bob, and her daughter Carol from heaven’s gates were welcoming her as she reached out her arms calling each of them by name. When she spoke her husband’s name she smiled and said, “How handsome you look.” What a comfort I found to have been present to see her heavenly caretakers lovingly show her the beauty of eternity as she approached heaven’s doorstep.
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About the Book
H…elping restore spirits ravaged by infirmity and happenstance.
O…pting to reinforce God’s divine grace and benevolent mercy.
S…erving daily a generous portion of love and compassion.
P…roviding comfort seasoned with both concern and sympathy.
I…nvoking the blessings of God to lift descending spirits.
C…hoosing to adhere to the positive in spite of adversity.
E…ffectuating Godly feelings of continual love and eternal peace.
Written by:
William H. Nelson
The creativity of a southern hospice nurse spirited these writings inside From God’s Front Porch. The physical, emotional, and spiritual needs voiced by the hospice patients and families that she cared for inspired her to use poetry and photography to capture their end-of-life experiences. Even though dying is usually not the most popular topic for a conversation piece, there is an increasing awareness in our society today for hospice to be entertained as a doable philosophy of care.
Hospice is committed to affirm the cycle of life and enhance one’s quality of living with dignity and compassion. These writings hopefully offer hope and encouragement not just for those transitioning in hospice, but also for those affected by their everyday life experiences. The multi-diverse feelings in both situations are portrayed through pictures and heartfelt words speaking from the heart and embracing the spirit.
Ya’ll pull up a rocker and set a spell on God’s Front Porch! Take time to reflect, laugh, or even cry as each page or photograph possibly unlocks treasured memories you yourself might have experienced! Enjoy the illustrations from God’s beauty that is all around us. Be inspired by His words from the heart for the heart to help understand just a little bit about heaven as His people have faced New Life!
Ya’ll come back…ya hear?
About the Author
I was born during a blistering Mankato, Minnesota snowstorm. My life ultimately centered in the Mississippi river town of Dubuque, Iowa. Being the third child of five, I took on the caregiver role. My personality was blended by a hard-working father who addressed life in a storytelling fashion and a gentle-spirited mother. From a city-girl background, I married a dairy farmer whose patience and farming expertise encouraged me to overcome my inhibitions. I succeeded in making the seemingly impossible tasks that I encountered to be absolutely attainable. My son and his family are some of my most endearing gifts that I have received in my life!
The farm crisis period of the 1980’s, invoked me to lean on my writing abilities to emotionally support farmers who faced the closures of their livelihoods. Unbeknown to me, even tough God was totally directing me, I followed in the footsteps of my great-aunt Gertrude E. Goodman who compiled her own poetic works throughout her lifetime. With unwavering confidence and determination, I wrote poetic lines that seemed to tug on the heart strings of the farming community and supported while comforting them when their hope for survival was at its ultimate low.
With a move to Atlanta, Georgia and a career change to be a hospice nurse, I became a caregiver tending to the physical, emotional, social, and spiritual needs of the terminally ill. Lessons learned in my childhood have served me well. Hard work that was weaved with patience, gentleness, compassion, and accountability have given me the opportunity to be able to journey with the terminally ill facing their end-of-life!