I was nearing the end of
my teaching career. I only had another few months
before my scheduled retirement. With a new principal
who I didn't know well, how could I continue to make
a difference for the Lord at my school?
This dilemma was augmented
by the fact that my mother was dying. After a long,
courageous battle with Alzheimer's, the news from
Belgium was grim: Her days were numbered, she didn't
have the inner reserves to pull out. I wanted so
much to be with my mom during her final hours, yet
it was the middle of a school year. I would only be
allotted a limited number of days to be away before
I would start losing pay, and how was I to know when
her last days would be so as to time my visit
accurately?
I spoke to my principal
and vice principal, and they were both very
supportive: "You should leave immediately!" they
said. They advised me that it would be better to be
with her for a week before she passed away than to
wait too long and risk not seeing her again alive.
It made sense to me, but
since I was her only remaining family, I knew that
if I wasn't there at just the right time, she would
die alone. I really wanted to be with her in her
final hour, but how could I know?
A week later, I sat down
on the sofa to watch something I had taped to DVD.
It was a nightly ritual, something I did to help me
forget the problems of the day so I could sleep
better. And believe me, there were plenty of
problems to forget that day! Just a few days
earlier, the nurse at the nursing home had told us
she only had a day or two to live, but just that
morning, they reported that she had bounced back.
That was good news, but for how long?
I idly flipped on the TV
and the DVD player and slipped in a recorded DVD. I
had no idea what would be the first show up on the
DVD, and strangely, I didn't care. In the back of my
mind, however, I heard a voice: "It will be NCIS!"
Strange. But when I
pressed play, the introduction to NCIS came
immediately on.
Coincidence?
Probably, and I sat back
to enjoy my show. As it was the middle of winter and
with cold and flu bugs everywhere, I reached for the
Vitamin C jar. The chewable tablets came in four
different flavors corresponding to four different
colors. I had no idea which one I would get, nor did
I really care. Yet once again, I heard that voice in
the back of my mind: "It will be pink." Imagine my
surprise when I pulled a pink tablet from the jar...
Wait. What was happening?
Twice I had been told in advance what would happen,
and all about insignificant things. Why?
Once again I heard that
little voice: "If I can tell you in advance what TV
show you will watch and what Vitamin C tablet you
will take, don't you think I can tell you when to go
see your mom?"
Imagine my surprise when
my wife came to me the very next morning, telling me
that she felt God was telling her that my mom had
exactly seven days to live...
That was a Tuesday
morning, and it took us until the following Saturday
to make all necessary travel arrangements. I would
be able to be away from school for exactly school 7
days, and I knew in my heart that this is exactly
how many days I would need to be away.
We arrived in Belgium
early Sunday morning. Renting a car from the airport
in Brussels, we arrived in Ostend by noon. My mom
was lucid that day, the first time in a long time.
She knew who we were and spent all afternoon with a
great big smile on her face. We had a great day
together and we were encouraged. The only sad moment
was when we told her that our oldest son would be
flying in on Thursday to see her. Her face fell at
that point. It was like she was saying, "I can't
hold on that long!" We assured her that it was okay,
and we passed a pleasant evening together.
The following day, Monday,
my mom was only semi-conscious. Medical staff came
in, looked at her and left shaking their heads. She
didn't respond to us or to anyone, or even seem to
know we were there. As evening came on, the nurse in
charge told us that they didn't expect my mom to
live through the night. We wanted to stay with her,
but we were exhausted from our trip and the six-hour
time change. We were afraid that if we stayed with
her, the nurses wouldn't be as likely to check up on
her as often, and she might pass away while we
slept. We arranged with her nurse to call us
immediately if my mom took a turn for the worse, and
we went to our hotel.
At 3:30 am, Tuesday
morning, we got the call. We hurried to the home,
where we sat on each side of her, holding her hands
and whispering words of reassurance. She slipped
away peacefully about 30 minutes later. It was
exactly one week since God had assured me we could
trust Him to know when to travel, exactly one week
from the time God spoke "Seven days" to my wife.
There were arrangements to
make, the funeral, cremation and scattering of her
ashes to arrange, her room at the home had to be
cleaned out, and of course, the legal business had
to be attended to. Is anyone surprised to learn that
all of this took exactly...Seven school days, the
exact number of days I was allotted to be away?
That's when God impressed
me to write up a story and give it to my
vice-principal. I obeyed, and before I knew it, she
had shared it with the principal. Both called me
into the office, and I had a chance to witness to
them both of God's goodness and His ability to put
us where we need to be at exactly the right time. I
would never know what the follow-up of this exchange
about God would be; but God knows. And through this
situation, not only was I able to be with my mom
when she passed away, but the principal and
vice-principal of my school had the opportunity to
hear about our loving God.
No, I may not have been
allowed to have a Bible club at this school, but God
was holding the door wide open to witness in
different ways, ways that no doubt were far more
powerful for this particular school and staff.
We must never forget that,
"As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and
do not return to it without watering the earth and
making it bud and flourish, so that it yields
seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my
word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return
to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and
achieve the purpose for which I sent it." (Isaiah
55:10-11 NIV)
In His love,
Rob Chaffart