I was driving home from a business meeting in Atlantic City in which I had several hours to sit and think about her. There was one thing that she used to say that kept coming back to me. This was one of her favorite sayings:
'If you're being run out of town, get in front and make it look like a parade!'
You do not know how many times that I have thought about that in my lifetime. This attitude is how she lived her life. She always wanted to be out front and lead the parade.
She was also one that never met a stranger. We would joke with her that she could meet anyone for the first time and within 10 minutes know their entire life story. And at the end of that 10 minutes she would also ask them if the knew the Lord. She lived everyday thinking about others, caring for others, and trying to get others hearts right for God.
My friend Jim told me that she was doing Mary's work for the Lord. I agree, but I also think she was a lot like Paul. She often told me that she thought that Paul was a remarkable man that Jesus did his work through. She would tell me that if Jesus could save a man like Paul that He could save anyone. I believe she tried to emulate Paul by preaching the good news about Jesus to everyone she could.
She is not being run out of town, but she is out there leading the parade home. She is leading that parade ahead of her family. She is out in front singing, playing music, bringing attention to the Lord!
(Psalm 150)
Hallelujah! Praise God in his holy house of worship,
praise him under the open skies;
Praise him for his acts of power,
praise him for his magnificent greatness;
Praise with a blast on the trumpet,
praise by strumming soft strings;
Praise him with castanets and dance,
praise him with banjo and flute;
Praise him with cymbals and a big bass drum,
praise him with fiddles and mandolin.
Let every living, breathing creature praise God!
Hallelujah!
Mom, thank you for your love of the Lord and thank you for teaching me to always get out in front and lead the parade.
What a beautiful tribute to your Mom. I have tears in my eyes as I read this. She was very full of life and the perfect "drum majorette" for any parade. She showed love and support at a time that Mark and I were going through a rough period at the beginning of our marriage 14 years ago, and I will never forget that. Your mother was someone that you meet and never forget. Love to all of the family. I know first hand how hard it is to lose a parent. I lost both my parents two months apart in 2008. I miss them every single day. On the plane going back to Florida from Washington State (4 years ago this month) to help care for my Mother at the end of her life as she was going through advanced cancer, I looked out the window of the plane. I knew that I would never see my Mother again when I returned from Florida. A voice came to me that said, "Your Mother will be like a butterfly. Her body, which is sick, will be like a cocoon...it will whither and die...but from that cocoon will emerge a beautiful butterfly which will live on. She WILL be living, you just won't be able to see her." When I got off the plane, my step-daughter, Ashley, picked me up at passenger pickup. When I got into her vehicle, she handed me a bag and said, "I have a gift for you." Inside the bag was a beautiful bracelet and very prominent on the bracelet was a butterfly. Just thought I would share this with you. Our Mothers will always be with us through our memories and will live forever in our hearts. Love to you and the entire McNulty family. (((((hugs)))) Kim
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