My mother – a life well lived and loved

Early Saturday morning on June 25th, 2022 while my mom was still sleeping, God, with grace and tender mercy, spoke her name and said, “Cathy, come on home.” And in an instant she was in the presence of Jesus. Dad called me around 3am and told me mom had passed away. Kathleen and I arrived about 30 minutes later. Dad (age 97) shared that when he put her to bed that night he knelt down beside her, kissed her on the cheek and prayed, “Lord, I don’t know how much longer I can physically manage helping Cathy. She’s in your hands.” Then he said, “God took care of her.”

Proceeding her in glory with a heritage of faith are parents, a brother, many family members, relatives, and inlaws. And equally important, someday will be a husband, four sons and daughters-in-law, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and many others.

If I were ever commissioned to create a portrait of grace, it would be of my mother. Her life and testimony is one of gracefulness and faithfulness. She was graceful in her walk as a daughter, wife, sister, mother, grandmother, and friend to many. And she was faithful in her life to her husband and the one she called Lord. Mom came to faith in Jesus at an early age and spent her life in devotion serving him and her family. Whether in church, at home, or in the community around her, mom extended grace to everyone she met.

As a homemaker to a husband and four sons, mom mastered that art with ease – at least it appeared so. But she was much more than that! Cooking, baking, sewing, singing, painting, planting, everything her hands touched turned to gold. She was Martha Stewart before there was one! She was truly a woman of great gifting and talent – much of which the world will never know. But those of us close to her have a lifetime of wonderful memories. (Oh, those made from scratch cherry pies!)

With the passing of my mother, it’s given me pause to consider all of the wonderful attributes she exhibited during her life. And, I could never fully express them here. But, I can say, in the days ahead, I hope and pray I’ll be able to exhibit those same godly qualities that made my mom the wonderful woman she is.

Mom, thank you for your love, faith, grace, and example – your home now!
“To be absent from the body is to be at home with the Lord.”

Cathryn Lou Moran 1932-2022