PSALMS OF COMFORT

When I hear the 23rd Psalm, I think of my mother-in-law, who loved the verses of this comforting poetry. Twelve years ago she died, and in the couple of years I had been married to her son, I felt as though I was just getting to know this wonderful woman!

Her name was Jean, and she was the only child born to a grain mill owner and his wife in Ulysses, Neb., in 1920. As a teenager, she kept accounting records in the family business at a time when few women worked at jobs outside the home. She attended the University of Nebraska and played trombone in the marching band! It was there that she met the love of her life, my father-in-law Ben.

The two of them married but soon after, found themselves temporarily separated by World War II. It was during Ben’s service in the Pacific that Jean gave birth to their first child. Together, she and Ben raised three wonderful children. Jean fulfilled the duties of a mom, worked part-time with the administration of a local college, played the piano, sang in her church choir and kept her family close at hand, and when that wasn’t possible, she kept them close at heart.

Jean eventually had two grandchildren in Denver, whom she saw often. She was so happy when her third grandchild, our son, James was born. She and Ben visited from Colorado when he was a month old, but because we lived in Massachusetts, visits were few and far between. We kept in touch, but it wasn’t long before we learned she was battling cancer. She had good days and not-so-good days with the cancer, but she was delighted when we shared the news that I was expecting a second child.

Several months into my pregnancy, Jean had to be hospitalized. Always with a kind word to those who treated her, she happily announced to her nurses one day that she was going to welcome a fourth grandchild into the world later that year. Her new grandchild was going to be a girl! We were surprised that she had made such an announcement, since we were convinced a second boy was on the way, but we didn’t question her remark. Anything that brightened Jean’s day was good to hear.

Then sadly, four months into my pregnancy, Jean succumbed to the effects of the disease. She asked her husband and children to travel to her bedside, so they could spend her last minutes together. In the quiet of her hospital room, she listened to the words of the 23rd Psalm, and with those she loved surrounding her, she removed her ventilation system, and breathed her last breath.

What a treasure Jean was to all around her. She left behind a legacy that will live on in the hearts of those who knew her, including those whose lives she touched for only a short while. Oh, and that second child we were expecting? James’ sibling arrived on schedule later that year. Wouldn’t you know, we had a baby girl, just as my mother-in-law had known. How could we name her anything other than Catherine Jean?

— Barbara Heard

Courtesy of The Church of the Good Shepherd United Methodist