“Beware the Ides of March.” The soothsayer’s warning in Shakespeare’s famous play, Julius Caesar, has forever given that date a bad name. Yet for my family the 15^th of March (the “Ides”) was the wonderful day that our mom, Marion Emily Martha Veronica Krien Schmidt was born.  If Mom were still alive, she would have been 97 years old today. She’s been gone almost 16 years now, and we still miss her terribly!

Mom was an amazing woman. Not only did she raise seven children on a “shoe-string” budget, but she lived life to the fullest right up to the moment that God took her home. You see, as some of you may know, my mom was taken from us suddenly, in an auto accident. And terrible as that may seem ~ the remembrance of that event somehow always brings both a tear and a bitter-sweet smile to my face.

A few years before mom was killed, my father passed away from cancer. It was a slow and painful death that I would not have wished on anyone, much less my loving Daddy. So for me, when I learned that Mom had been killed almost instantly in a car accident, there was almost a bit of relief in the fact that God had taken her quickly, without the extended suffering I witnessed in my dad’s passing. But that’s not the real reason for the smile that sneaks up on me when I think about Mom’s last automobile ride. That comes from knowing where Mom thought she was headed, and where she actually ended up. Let me explain.

Mom was a true lover of Jesus. She raised her children to know that Jesus loved us, and that He came to forgive our sins. We knew what Christmas and Easter were really all about from the time we could wait for the “Baby Jesus” to appear in the manger scene on Christmas morning, or hear the story of the Risen Jesus with much more enthusiasm than the myth of the Easter Bunny.

I’ll never forget the time she sat in my family room, at the age of 80, and shared her excitement over the Bible Study on the book of Revelation she was doing with her church. There she was, one of the most spiritually mature, godly women I’ve ever known, telling me how much she was “growing” through her new Bible study. Growing? All I could think was, “Oh my! If Mom is still growing at the age of 80, do I ever have a LONG way to go!”

Mom lived her faith ~ right up to the day she died. That day was a very special day on Mom’s calendar. She was looking forward to another “Subiaco Retreat.” Each year, she and a number of other people of various ages from her church would make the drive to Subiaco, Arkansas for their annual retreat. Mom LOVED Subiaco! She would come back every year and talk for hours about the things God taught her and how close she felt to Him in that beloved place. And on this day, she and four friends were taking the beautiful country drive from Mountain Home to Subiaco. Mom was in the back seat, peacefully anticipating another glorious time of “retreat” in the presence of her loving Father. We are told she was asleep in the back seat when another car pulled out right in front of theirs and that was it. The four others in her car all lived, and actually had only relatively minor injuries. But my mom was elderly. Her frail body could not handle the impact of the crash. She was pronounced dead before she got to the hospital.

So I suppose you’re thinking, “What kind of horrible daughter is this who would find a reason to smile in this story?” Here’s the thing… the only place that Mom would have rather awakened than at the beautiful retreat center in Subiaco, was in the arms of Jesus! And that’s exactly where she was when she opened her eyes. Home at last! Finally fully “grown” and fully alive! I’m sure she was reunited with our dad there which is a sweet, sweet thought. But one thing I know. My mom ~ who would not dance with any other man after my Father died, not even her grandsons ~ is now dancing with Jesus!

Happy Birthday Mom! I’ll see you there soon. And Jesus (and Daddy too!) ~ save a dance for me!

Blessings to you all! We’d love to hear from you! Click on the comments link at the top of the page and let us know what brings a bitter-sweet smile to your face.