My heart is drawn to a story about 6 little children. 4 girls and 2 boys. Their mom of 29 had died of cancer when the little one, a girl, was 4 month old, and the oldest child was 10. Their mom had cancer while carrying Ruthann. Life would never be the same, and yet…. there was a gift in disguise. A young woman, Rachel, stepped into their lives, married their dad and shoulder the burden while a family mourned and struggled. Life was different. As these children grew, there seemed to linger a question unanswered, WHY?
The youngest child who was loved by many, Ruthann, struggled silently with the not knowing of her mom. Never knowing her voice, her soft touch. Rachel’s love grew into the hearts of these children giving them strength to look forward but there was a place in Ruthann’s heart that needed filled.
The years passed and the children grew up and began their own lives. Ruthann was a teenager at this time. Then one day The oldest boy, Michael, called his siblings and said he wanted them to all meet at a certain restaurant, he had a surprise for them. They all met and Michael gave each one of his sisters a red rose, their moms favorite flower. Stories of the past, tears, laughter, hugs were all shared. Then Michael asked his siblings to follow him in their cars. He lead them to the home they were born in, (their dad and Rachel had since moved). The siblings were puzzled? Michael explained he had contacted the owners of the home and asked for permission to spend an hour in the home going through memories and showing Ruthann where they had lived. Love was encircled around all the siblings. After their visit of memories in the old home, they walked outside and in front, Michael told a story.
He had called many aunts and uncles to see if they had old forgotten photos of their mom. Not many photos were taken back in the 50s and 60s as times were hard. He called their Aunt Maureen and he said she asked him to come over. He went to visit her, she said she had something for him. She was very close to their mom and her death was hard on her. She had gone to visit their mom while she was dying. She was bedridden. Maureen told him that while she was visiting, their mom had something clinched in her hand. Maureen said, “with tears down your moms face, she whispered to me and said give this to Ruthann when she is old enough. Tell her I did it for her. Tell my children I love them”.
Maureen went to her closet and took down a box. She opened it and took something out, giving it to Michael and said, I had forgotten about it until you called.
As Michael told the story, he walked up to Ruthann and opened her hand, placed the cameo broach their mom used to wear in it. Tears streamed down the girls face, a lifetime of emotion released. The siblings circled around her hugging her. She said she always felt left out because they had some kind of memory of their mom. The day was ending so the siblings said their goodbye and got in their cars……… As I drove away with my baby sister, Ruthann in my back seat, through the rear view mirror, I watched tears of joy pour out as she held that cameo broach to her heart. I knew she was talking to our mother.
Our lives are good and our gifts are many. Rachel gave us a mothers love unexplained. She had 6 children of her own and our family grew in abundance. May we all notice the unseen miracles in our lives. Blessings to you all.
Tamara
seveninnercircles 