One day while we were sitting in her hospital room, I saw Nini's finger moving in the air and her head nodding as though she were listening to Someone and agreeing. I asked her if she had been talking to Jesus, and she immediately said "Yes! He loves me; Jesus loves me!" Yes, He does, I agreed. A few days later, I was with her when she stepped into the presence of the Lord. He was in her room that day. I felt His presence; I "saw" Him. He carried her away to her new home in heaven to live with Him.
Those of you who knew Nini know that she loved anything purple and butterflies, or as she would say "flutterbys". I often think now how appropriate a symbol for her. As that caterpillar has been in that dark and isolated cocoon, struggling and fighting with all it's might to break loose, be beautiful and fly free, so has my sister with her long battle. She has shed off her old "cocoon", broken loose, is beautiful and finally free "to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. And shall she ever be."!!
She was a bit ill at the very last. Suffice it to say that she did not go out as a lamb. And I think that was her little joke on me because she knew how weak my constitution is. To this day, I still get sick at my stomach at the mere mention of anything distasteful. I always look away at gross scenes in the movies. But yet I was the one chosen to be with her on that last day sharing her final hours here and I think she would smile and say, "You did good kid; I'm proud of you! See ya soon...I'm saving a place for you."
Several of Nini's co-workers have told me how she always talked about her family. She loved her nieces and nephews (she always referred to them as "her babies"), and she absolutely adored her son, Paul. He was the center of her world. She was always so very proud of him. But a little guy came along that simply swept her off her feet more than anyone else ever did...her grandson, Brendan. He was the joy of her heart! She delighted in telling me each new thing he did. Boy, did she beam whenever she spoke of that precious Brendan!!
Our niece, Robin, was able to come from Louisiana and stay with her in the hospital the last two weeks of her life. I also was able to spend a lot of time with her those last two weeks of her journey here on this earth. On one of our fun nights in the hospital, we all sang Kumbaya, I've Got The Joy, Joy, Joy, Victory In Jesus, Amazing Grace, & Oklahoma! I burned some special cd's by various artists that I knew she would enjoy and took them to her hospital room. When I would play them, she and I would sing along together and she would wave her hands in the air as though she were directing the entire production; that is such a precious memory to me. Oh yes, and she also made me promise to introduce Celine to her grandson, Brendon. She told me that "he just has to hear her music".
Unselfish is definitely an accurate description! I had to be careful not to tell her that I liked something that she had, for sure enough, she would just give it to me - right then! She was thinking of others even when she was in the hospital so sick. This was evident when she asked me to share one of my recipes. There is a dish of Emeril's that I prepare that she absolutely loved. Braised Country-Style Pork Ribs with White Beans & Rice. I had just made it for her before she went into the hospital. But she made me promise to give the recipe out to those she named...which I promptly did. Then she asked me to buy a couple of double-shamrock plants for others. That I have not done yet, but it's on my list to do. And how unselfish of her to participate in clinical trials at West Clinic then later to donate her body to U.T. in hopes they could learn something more from her case that would help future breast-cancer patients!
A few days before Nini was admitted to the hospital, she and I were talking about her illness, life, and death...preparations for the "here-after". We had no idea that in only two and one-half weeks, she would have completed her assignment here on this earth.
We had been raised in church and I knew she believed in God, but I also knew that having an intellectual knowledge of God or having lived a good life or possessing a religion was not evidence of eternal salvation. So I asked her the most important question I could think of: "If you died today and stood before God and He said 'Vernita, why should I let you into My heaven?', what would you say?" She then shared with me how she knew that she would spend eternity with our Lord Jesus Christ. She said that she knew she was born a sinner, that Jesus had come to die on the cross as her substitute, He was buried and rose from the grave. God the Father was satisfied with His (Jesus) sacrifice. She further said how she trusted Him only to be the Master of her life. So I know that I will see her again.
I want to stop here and ask you that same question. "If you died today, and stood before God and He said 'Why should I let you into My heaven?', what would you say?" Your answer is the difference between life and death, my friend. My sister Nini and I want to see you forever also.
