Mtr Mary Trainor

Dear friend,

I never knew my maternal grandmother, but at twenty-three months old I traveled to her funeral in Oklahoma. She died at fifty-seven years old, plagued in her last several years with heart issues.

Mamie Wilder—who I would have called Mommo—had some time to plan for her departure. And she made good use of it.

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Let me hazard a guess that most of us have experience with a big move, a big journey, a trip of a lifetime.

Some may seem grander than others, but all are equally “big” for the one making the plan, taking the trip. Perhaps for some the big journey is their final one, as it was for my grandmother.

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In today’s Gospel from John, Jesus is getting ready for his trip of a lifetime, a sojourn to Jerusalem and the end of his life in human form

As part of his preparation, he is telling his disciples what lay ahead, and how it is they will be able to continue. In essence, he is managing their transition, the grim reality of which they are still in disbelief.

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He managed the same transition plan for us. It is the gift of taking our worries, hopes, anxieties, dreams, wishes, thanksgivings, fears, questions, directly to God in prayer—in Jesus’ name.

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Mommo was, I am told, a follower of Jesus, attempting—despite her very flawed human nature—to do as he willed. She tried with all her might to focus on the needs of others.

So, even as she was planning for the big trip of her lifetime, she spent her final days making clothes for her daughters, making sure the kitchen pantry was fully stocked, letting her neighbors know to keep an eye on her family to make sure they would be okay.

Like her Lord and Savior before her, she was managing the transition for her family.

Mtr Mary