Remembering Mom is a Blessing. She gave me life, love and shaped my soul.

This year I have a better understanding of sorrow. For one thing, it has been a year since I lost my mother. Losing someone you love is difficult, whether it be to death or any other way people lose each other. But Christian believers know that death is not a final loss. This faith takes away the sting—even though I am sad in the present—I have peace in the promise of eternity together. The gift of faith I received in baptism and through hearing the Word of God allows me to trust that the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is pure grace which redeems me. It helps me understand sacrificial love.

Curious people love to learn. This is why the adult Bible class I go to after church on Sundays is well attended. I don’t do well at studying on my own, so it really helps to participate in class as a listener. Not that I retain all the knowledge that is available to absorb on my own, but I know the Spirit uses this method to get things into my thick noggin and amazingly allows me to retrieve it when I need it most.

One of the great things about this class is that it offers opportunity for questions about the sermon, is open to and often is side-tracked into discussion about various topics that are current in everyday life. This way I am able to learn about a perspective often not available through the popular news media. For example, I would not have known about the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Mandate. The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS) response—the video was informative and interesting. President Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison testified on Capitol Hill before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, representing my position. I object to the use of drugs such as “the morning after pill” and procedures that are used to take the lives of unborn children, who are persons in the sight of God from the time of conception.

Now, our Bible class is into the third of the past three topics listed below:

1. Isaiah—Book of the Bible (740–861 BC)
2. Witness • Mercy • Life Together Bible Study, Albert Collver (2011)
3. What Happens When I Die?, Stephen Hower (2011)

Ruth Margaret (Olson) Busse

Remembering Mom is a Blessing 
I see her in the mirror
Hear her in a sister
Feel her in the sky
Imagine her in my car
Find her in a photo
I remember her smile,
her discernment,

her grace,

her hug,
her voice,
her wisdom.