God Doesn’t Give Us Only One Task at a Time
Yesterday I mentioned the positive influence my parents have had on us throughout all of our years in Notgrass History. They taught us to be creative, to persevere, and to have fun. A couple of months ago, I told you about the stroke my mother had in June of 2013. After living with us off and on over the next year, she needed to move in with us permanently in May of 2014. She continued to live with us until she passed away in February 2020. I am grateful that we did not move our company into the new headquarters until this year. Working from home made it possible for us to care for Mother and operate our business at the same time.
Mother often sat in on business meetings with our family and team members.
Occasionally we took her to my hometown of Ashland City where she could spend a few days in an assisted living facility. This gave her the opportunity to visit with friends and relatives and gave us the opportunity to attend homeschool conferences. In this photo, we and our friends Garth and Terry are dropping Mother off in her usual respite apartment before we four headed off to a homeschool convention. Yesterday I showed you pictures of Ray and Mother while we waited for our vehicle to be repaired earlier that day and of Mother, Terry, and me close together in the backseat while we drove to Ashland City.
One morning while Mother was with us, she had a second stroke while sitting quietly in the porch swing enjoying being outside. She needed oxygen and a walker for awhile after that, but she improved in time and went back to breathing and walking on her own. In this photo, she is sitting in a rocking chair in our living room. Behind her is equipment for a video we have either been shooting for Notgrass History or are preparing to shoot.
God doesn’t give us just one task to do at a time. For a time, Ray and I needed to run a business and care for Mother. God provided creative ways to do both of those and He blessed us richly while He did.
One of the greatest joys for Mother while she lived with us was the precious time she got to spend with her great-grandchildren. In this photo, my beautiful mother is sitting in our home office and holding her baby grandson. See the joy on her face. She told me once that the great-grandchildren were one of her reasons to keep on living.
Every loving mama and grandmama knows exactly how she felt.
And my God will supply all your needs
according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.Â
Now to our God and Father be the glory
forever and ever. Amen.
Philippians 4:19-20