Elaine Marie Cooper Author

Historical Fiction That Grabs Your Heart and Feeds Your Soul

death

Life is a Treasure

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This week my family is treasuring the life of a new baby girl, born to our younger son and his wife. What a joy! We have eagerly awaited her birth for these many months now and breathed a huge sigh of relief when all went smoothly with the delivery. As a nurse, I’m all too aware of the complications that can lead to heartache, so seeing my son and daughter-in-law on Facetime hold their precious gift was a joy beyond measure. I have my airplane reservation already made to visit them very soon and hold the little one in person!!

Another family is treasuring the life of their daughter this week, as well. Sadly, cancer snuffed out the life of 11-year-old Ava, daughter of my older son’s friends from high school. We grieve deeply for this family, remembering the pain of losing our own daughter to cancer 14 years ago.

Life is so fragile and often taken for granted. We go about our day, planning for tomorrow, assuming all will be well. We think we are immune from disasters or diseases—unless they strike on our doorstep, threatening those we love. Then we are forced to face the uncomfortable truth that life is a treasure, never to be taken for granted. And that each breath of existence can be halted at any moment.

So where is our hope in the midst of such despair? It is with Jesus Christ, our treasure in heaven, Who will never leave us or forsake us. Despite the pain we experience here on earth and the fragile nature of life, we can cling to that truth that He loves us. Despite the heartache we see all around us, we can know there is an eternity awaiting us where there is no fear, no tears, and no pain. It is the ultimate joy that awaits us. It is our true home for those who believe in the Savior who died for our sins.

 

Will you be ready when eternity is just a breath away?

 

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“Our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.” Phillipians 3:20 NIV

Jesus said, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going…I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” John 14: 1-4, 6-7 NIV

 

 

 

 

Every Day is a Gift

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We buried my Mom yesterday. She was 99 years old.

Up until the last year of her life, her main difficulties were physical ones. But the last twelve months had seen an increase in loss of memory and comprehension—a tough battle for a lady as mentally sharp as Mom. Even when you’re nearing the century mark, no one wants to lose pieces of their life that become fragmented in the fog of growing dementia. That was her toughest struggle of all.

During the winter months of her battle, I was signing books at a Christian bookstore a distance away. During one of my breaks, I sauntered around the selection of gifts when my eyes were drawn toward a small ceramic bird. I focused on the inscription, which read, “Every Day is a gift from God.”

I picked up the precious reminder and brought it to the cash register. This was a gift worth purchasing for Mom.

 

Mom and I on Valentine's Day
Mom and I on Valentine’s Day

When I presented it to her on Valentine’s Day, her face lit up. “Thank you for the reminder,” she said with eyes that revealed so much. It’s difficult to consider the hours spent in discomfort, loneliness, and confusion as a gift. Yet even the moments of pain can become a blessing as our compassion for others in need is nurtured and our appreciation for heaven is heightened. These are the gifts of glorifying God that—while we do not understand the whole picture on this side of heaven—require our trust as our faith in Him is strengthened.

I often think of my crossstitch needlework when pondering life’s woes. While on the front is a beautifully wrought design, the underside is pocked with strands of tattered thread that look unattractive and frayed. God’s view is the finished piece of artwork while all we can see on this side of heaven is the battered and broken underside.

Yet God is creating His masterpiece.

After Mom’s funeral yesterday, I saw one of my mom’s dear friends—a precious lady with a keen mind and a crippled body from polio that she had years ago. My mom loved her and she cherished Mom in return. I had picked up Mom’s ceramic bird after she passed away and placed the gift in my purse. It was still nestled in my pocket book so I reached in and wrapped my fingers around the precious reminder that had ministered to my mom.

“Here, Carol.” I placed the bird in her hands. “I think my Mom would have wanted you to have this.”

Her eyes melted in appreciation. “Thank you.”

“Thank you for being her friend,” I said, my own eyes welling.

The gift of a friend—one of God’s many comforts as we face the trials of each day. As we each draw closer to Him, and our own eternity.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Life and Death

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I’m sitting at my mother’s bedside and she is dying.

It is not an unexpected event since she is 99. But the sheer rapidity of the onset of pneumonia took us all by surprise. She was playing a game with my sister last Saturday. On Sunday she was reading the library books I had picked up for her and anticipating her grandson’s visit this week. By Tuesday, she was short of breath and feverish. By the next Saturday—today—she is unresponsive and near the end. [Read more…] about Life and Death