On Bended Knees and Hearts

September 23, 1968: It is a day of celebration. We are with our beloved grandma. The little girl (me) happily stands near her beautiful baby sister, who carries an infectious smile. We are celebrating my sister’s second birthday.

October 22, 1968: One month later, it is a day of mourning. We are devastated and heartbroken over the precious life taken much too soon by a hit-and-run driver. With her sister gone, the little girl feels lonelier than ever. Mama felt lost and was never the same.

2023: Mama changed addresses this past Mother’s Day at 3 p.m. In August, we took some of Mama’s remains and placed them near her daughter, my baby sister. Both are with their Savior now, no longer suffering. We shall see our loved ones again one day.

For now, we are left with their memories and all the should-haves, could-haves, and would-haves.

Ecclesiastes 12:7

“Then the dust will return to the earth as it was,
And the spirit will return to God who gave it.”

John 14:1-4

“Let not your heart be troubled;

you believe in God, believe also in Me.

In My Father’s house are many mansions;

if it were not so, I would have told you.

I go to prepare a place for you.

And if I go and prepare a place for you,

I will come again and receive you to Myself;

that where I am, there you may be also.

 And where I go you know, and the way you know.”

Running in Heels: A Memoir of Grit and Grace by Mary A. Pérez