He is like a  tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Psalm 1:3 NIV

You have probably seen these flowers by the side of the road. Most people don't pay much attention to them, because they grow wild wherever they can take root. These were the kind of flowers my mother loved. It was simple to please her, and she didn't say she liked them because we were children.

As we became adults her preference was still for the wildflowers. I don't care much for them. I wasn't raised in the country like my mother. Her fondest memories were of visiting her Aunt on her farm and her Grandmother at her cabin by Seneca Lake. She grew up in the small town of Elmira in western New York, which borders on Pennsylvania.

When she finished college and came to NYC, the cab drivers would ask her where she was from, and she would reply "Elmira". The next question they would ask was" What your number?" They weren't asking for her phone but her prison number since a Penituntary was located there. This wasn't a good start for this shy, quiet country girl!

I wonder if wild flowers, like trees, root in a place where they will  recieve the life giving water to grow? I think it is safe to assume they do. Mom received the nuturing necessary to grow from her small family and friends far from the hustle and speed of Long Island.

She always spoke about going home to Elmira, but never did. As she grew older no one she knew lived there anymore. The place she remembered as home was no longer the same. What her longed for was in heaven. A safe refuge, and a place to feel accepted,  and loved would come before anyone was ready.

One day while my sister visited, our Mom hit her head as she fell. She insisted she was fine, but I called for an ambulance anyway. At 83 years old, we weren't going to take any chances. While she was in emergency she lapsed into a coma from a brain bleed, and died three days later.

Tragic, sad and life changing for us since my Mom lived with us at the time but I was so happy for her! She was in the place where she always wanted to be. No more striving to please others or trying to get that stupid walker to take her where she wanted.

I miss her so much, but I'm comforted by the truth that she is at peace, and loved by her heavenly Father much more than we can ever love her. Not a worry or care, and no more medicine! I will see her again, and it won't seem to her to be a long wait. She will turn around and I will look into her face, and she will say, "Oh You came with me! What a nice surprise." There is no time there, she won't know its been years. Oh, the goodness of God!