When doctors told my Mother she couldn't live alone because of congested heart failure and other health problems, she called me and I told her I would be there in three days and for her to get a cousin who lived near her to stay with her till I arrived. No way did I want her be placed in a nursing home as long as I could care for her.

I arrived at her home in, San Pedro CA on July 4 from Mississippi, and on July 6, Mother got worse and had to go back into the hospital. I spent everyday sitting with her and at night her cousin would sleep there so I could go home and rest up and return the next day.

One day while I was at the hospital all the memories came rushing back. Mother was from the, "old school" and was a very strict parent, what people call verbal abuse today, as well as spankings. There were no "time out chairs in her home! Of the two the verbal abuse was the worse. That old saying of, "Sticks and Stones may break your bones but words will never hurt you," It's not true, words cut deepest, but today, I can say, "Thanks Mother, for all you taught me."

Mother taught me, right from wrong, respect for others and their property, she opened up another world that I soon fell in love with, The Dinner Theaters and we saw some wonderful plays on stage!

I took dance classes and sorry to say but, Tap dancing and being a Ballerina, were not for me! I wanted to do the Twist, the Jigger Bug and the Stroll! I joined the Brownies, and it took me two Summer's to learn how to swim!

While other teenagers were listening to the popular 45's like the, The Righteous Brothers, Connie Francis, Sam Cook, Elvis, Jan and Dean, the Beach Boys, and all the other singers in the early 50's and 60's, Mother tuned her radio to the instrumental stations and played the music of the 20's, 30's, and 40's, and at the time I did not appreciate the beauty of those songs. Today they are among my favorites!

Over the years Mother had opened up many of the Arts and taught me to appreciate all of them in their on rights. Mother and I were never close as we should have been, but now she needed me and I was there for her.

When she returned home from the hospital, there were days she didn't know who I was and would call me, Mother. Someday's she didn't know where she was, at times she needed help eating her meals and getting dressed. It hurt me to see this once strong, independent woman laying there so frail and helpless. Not only didn't she know me, but at times, she didn't know she was safe in her own home and bed. Sometimes she would cry like a child and I could see the fear in her eyes, all I could do was hug her and keep telling her it was going to be alright. After a while she would stop crying and fall asleep. And I would be the one crying softly in my room.

I prayed for Mother's healing, and I even placed a prayer cloth, (without her knowledge) under the bottom sheet of her bed. My faith was strong in my Lord and I knew in my heart that only He could heal Mother. On one of her better days I asked if she wanted me to read to her from my Bible. She said, "No, I have read it several times, it is a wonderful book but that is all it is, just a book." Tears filled my eyes as I closed the Bible as Mother asked for the T.V. to be turned on that was my clue she wanted to be alone.

Just outside the back door were five steps leading down a narrow walkway, that was where I spent my quiet times talking with my Lord. There were times when I grew tired and the prayers and tears were free to flow. Over the three years I had been saved, I had learned His Holy Spirit still works in our lives today! God has shown me in to many ways that He is with us always, and we are not alone. Not only by His written Word but from what He has done in my personal life, so I had no doubt that He was with me there at Mother's.

I had been with Mother for about six weeks and she was getting better. The doctor was surprised at her improvement and told me whatever I was doing, keep it up! I smiled and said a silent prayer, "Lord, thank You for all you are doing in my Mother's life!"

After lunch each day Mother would take a nap and I would go outside to read or just look at the harbor and the lighthouse. Mother only lived two blocks from the beach and there was a clear view of Cabrilla Beach.

One day as I sat outside reading, I saw two Blue Jays sitting on the power lines. I was eating a sandwich and took some of the crust off the bread and tossed it way out past the the steps. One of the birds flew down and took a piece of the bread and flew off landing again on the power lines. Then the other one did the same thing. I remember smiling and telling God "Thank You for the lovely Blue Jays"

The following day my feathered friends were back. This time they were on the porch of the apartment, again they ate the bread that I feed them. But this time they didn't fly away, they sat just a foot or so from the bottom of the steps! As the days passed I looked forward to their visits!

I would talk to them and in about three weeks they would sit within arms length from me and just chatter away when I spoke. I shared my bread and in return they gave me more joy and peace than anyone will ever know. If I was late coming out in the afternoon or evenings you could hear their chirping throughout the apartment and Mother would say, "Shirley, your friends are looking for you."

I shared with them all my dreams hopes, and most of all my faith in God. In my heart I know God had sent these two little Blue Jays to comfort me and share the long days with me. I often wonder, if they understood all they were being told. Okay, maybe they didn't understand, but now they came to me even after the bread was eaten and just sit with me.

On Oct. 10, 1987 Mother and I met with her doctors. They did an EKG, checked her oxygen level in her blood, and her diabetes was checked. As we sat there waiting for the results of her tests I prayed her tests would come back positive!

As we entered the doctor's office he was shaking his head as he looked at her tests results. Looking at Mother, he said...

"Pearl, I'm amazed at the recovery you have had! The oxygen level in your blood when you came to me a little over three months ago was very low, now it's great!

As of now, you are fine remember now, no smoking and stay on your diet, I'm releasing you today. If you have any questions or problems call me. We will discontinue the oxygen also. I will see you back here in six months."

Then he looked at me and said, "Shirley, you really took good care of your Mother, and followed all the instructions I gave you, she will have no trouble living on her own again. As he shook my hand he asked, "Will you be staying here or are you going home to your family in Mississippi?"

I turned and looked at Mother and before I could answer the doctor she said, "I'm okay now Shirley. You can go home, your family needs you."

As we walked out of the doctor's office I turned and asked the doctor, "Do you believe in God?" He said, "Yes, I do." I shook his hand again and told him, "God's healing powers ARE for today and He shown not only me, and you, but my Mother. What she does with that knowledge is now between her and Him."

The doctor hugged me and said, "Because of your faith, your Mother is walking out of here and can live alone, and able to get on with her life."

I left Mother's house on Oct 18, I was praising the name of our Lord and giving thanks to Him and as I walked down the narrow walkway to my taxi I glanced up to the power lines for my feathered friends, but, like the Dove on, "Touched By An Angel" TV show, they were gone. Their work here was finished. Maybe they had been called away to share God's Love, Peace, Joy and companionship with others who call on the name of our Lord for help.

Remember, no matter who you are or where you are, or what the circumstances around you, God is with you always. Keep your eyes, ears, and heart open, because you never know how our Lord will speak to you. It may be..."On Wings of Love"

This is a true story, of three and a half months I spent with my Mother and her healing of congested heart failure, smoking, high blood pressure, and diabetes. I thank God for allowing me to be a part of her recovery.

I also shared with you the part of where the two Blue Jays came to me the second week in Aug, and visited me each day until Oct 18, the same day I left Mother's home. Were they Blue Jays, or were they angels? All I know is the comfort and peace they gave to me and I thank God for sending them.

God's Word is for today just as it was when He walked here on Earth. Today, He still walks with us through His Holy Spirit.

Mother now lives near two of her brothers in Washington State. She is 87 years old. I often wonder what she thought when she changed her sheets on her bed, because you see, I never removed the prayer cloth from under the bottom sheet on her bed, she never mentioned it and neither did I.

Author Shirley Busby
5/19/01

Song playing:
"If That Isn't Love"
By Bill Gaither

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