“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit” – Psalm 34:18
My beautiful, strong mom, Emily Collins, absolutely loved the hottest days of summer when there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. In fact, her aunt and uncle named those times “Emily Lynn days.” At Mom’s graveside service in December of 2020, the temperature refused to climb out of the twenties, the wind was relentlessly blowing, and the sky was bleak and gray. In my grief, I was immune to the cold and wind, but my heart ached for sunshine because that’s what my mom was to so many . . . a ray of sunshine.
I was determined to make my mom’s service one that truly honored her, that celebrated the amazing person she was. I wanted others to know that even in the darkest days of her illness, she held tight to her faith and found light. I wanted others to know that even in her weakest moments, she never lost sight of that faith and found strength. I wanted her funeral to not be about her cancer, but about how she’d lived every single day of her life with a heart of gold, an unwavering faith, a deep devotion to her family, and a sincere appreciation for even life’s simple joys.
At the funeral, after the minister spoke, my sister and I shared many of the special memories Mom had so lovingly tucked in our hearts through the years. Then, as an acapella group with angelic voices sang one of Mom’s favorite songs, Oh Come, Angel Band, I looked up at the bleak sky and, through my tears, I smiled and whispered to my weeping sons to look up as well. The clouds had parted, and the sun was peeking through. At that moment, we were reminded that mom was still our ray of sunshine, and she always will be.
I thank our almighty God and the boys’ and my extra-special angel in heaven for a glimmer of hope on that wintry December day and for so many beautiful reminders of love and faith ever since, including those “Emily Lynn days.”
