And it is the last goodbye . . .
After a cold, Canadian winter, the soil is thawed, the soil turned,
the grave dug.
Earth that sprang forth flowers and vegetables from your tilling and tending touch,
earth turned and turned again,
now welcomes your life shell as it holds Dad’s, as well. You rest
with all our others who have lived before. Earth to earth—
pieces of decay and living memory
buried
with one last goodbye
until then.
Revelation 14:13 Then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.”
A p r o n h e a d -- Lilly Green 
R I P.
Thank you. Because of the frozen ground, Mum could not be buried till today. I can’t be there with the rest, but my heart is there.
Thinking of you. God bless your mother’s memory and her legacy in you.
Thanks, Joe.
We buried our Dad’s body this week as well. My prayers are also for you.
And with you. Hard to close these chapters.
Thinking of you xx
Thank you!
Your photo says it all. Love eternal.
Thanks, Dora , , , wait, after all this time is it Dor, Dora, Dorann, or just Virginia? 🙂
When I looked at your mother’s hand, Lilly, I could visualize her. That’s a wonderful photo to have. My thoughts are with all of you.
Thanks, Patricia. It was challenging to take it myself. 🙂 I got several when I was back the year before she passed. I love hands. They say so much. I regret not having one of Dad when he was older.
It’s very beautiful: words and photo.
My heart goes out to you in prayer.
Thank you. I didn’t think it would be a hard day compared to the wake and funeral, but so far away, it still hurt.
Sending hugs. Sometimes it is just as hard to be far away. I know.
Yup
Lilly, I am so sorry for your loss. My mom died on a frigid day in January 2010 and we had to wait till the ground thawed in the spring to bury her. I know the pain of losing a beloved mother.
By the way, Lilly, you and I are OLD, OLD friends – (think Spring Arbor)… I loved, loved, loved your voice and the way you played that guitar. The way you played that guitar was almost like, well, like you were born from the same womb and meant to be together. I recall that I could not get enough of your singing. Sometimes you and I would sit on the floor in some hallway and sing duets, but I always sang in the shadows because you were so AMAZING.
After all these many years, I have found you. I don’t know. I was on Facebook earlier and thought about you, so I decided to type your name in the space bar. I found several Lilly Greens, and then I saw Lilly Green Music and checked it out. I remembered you were Canadian, and so just like that, there you were! But I can’t find much in the way of current music. I have to believe you are still singing and playing. I did find a couple of songs on YouTube of you playing the piano and singing.
Here’s what you should do, Lilly. Keep your white hair intact, walk out on the stage of America’s Got Talent – or The Voice – sing a soft rock song, and just wow the entire world to its feet!!! You could do it!
I’m an author of 17 faith-based historical fiction titles. Can you believe it?
Come over to my Facebook page when you get a chance and friend me. I cannot wait to reconnect with you. Sharlene Baker MacLaren
Shar! Really? Of course I remember you. A blast from the past. Where are you now? If it was cold, are you still in MI?
Yes, I still live in Michigan. It was the winter of 2010 when my mom passed, and it was especially frigid. She had battled Alzheimers for 10 years, and it was the “A” that finally took her life. If she hadn’t gotten “A” I am certain she would have lived past 100. She didn’t have anything else wrong with her other than wicked Alzheimer’s. She died just before her 97th birthday. We could have buried her sooner, but there were extenuating circumstances, so we reserved a date in April, and it was a sunny send-off and another joyous celebration of her wonderful, God-filled, Christ-centered life.
I have been married to Cecil MacLaren who attended Spring Arbor in 1970-71. He attended for one year. He was a freshman and I a senior. He and I were childhood friends, so excellent friends the year he came to Spring Arbor. Also, his oldest sister married my oldest brother when he was a mere 9 and I 13, so that was the tie that bound us together. Through the years he always had a girlfriend, and I always had a boyfriend, but we always remained the best of friends. (Do you remember Rod Smithson, a guy from England that I dated for more than two years?) Y-U-C-K. Haha. Anyway, in 1975 I was not dating anyone and Cecil had just broken off an engagement with someone and was being discharged from a four-year stint in the Air Force. He was 23. When he came home that September, he and I FINALLY noticed each other in a way other than just as “brother and sister”. About 10 days later, we fell head-over-heels in love and were married in December of that year, just three months later. That was 40 years ago this winter!!!!!
I taught school for 31 years and now I’m a full-time author, which is my heart’s passion. We have two married daughters and five wonderful grandchildren ranging in ages from 1 – 9. Life is beautiful, fun, and highly rewarding, all praise and honor to our Lord.
How did your mom die if I may ask? Again, I am so sorry for your loss, Lilly. You are such a multi-talented person. I loved watching the YouTube video of you singing at the piano. The song had a great rock-type vibe to it, and I could just imagine you singing it on America’s Got Talent. (grins) I bet your kids and grandkids are so utterly proud of their cool grandma.
Please tell me more about yourself. You can email me or come over to my Facebook page and inbox me. Are you living in Canada?
I will reply on FB.
I can’t wait to hear from you!!!
A bittersweet day for you, I’m sure. Hugs!
Thank you. Sigh
Hi Lily, I am reading your post a bit late, as I had stepped away from blogging for a bit. I’m saddened to hear of your loss. It is so hard. The photo of your Mom’s hand is so wonderful. Ugh. These are tough times. Keep strong in your faith. And after reading the posts from your long lost friend, I want to hear you sing too!!!
Thanks. It is nice to reconnect again. It has been a tough couple of years for us. So much change.