A Family’s Journey Back to Union

Although there had been the usual medical challenges that are faced by most people in their eighties, Aunt Jenny had actually been in very good health for quite some time. Now, however, she was nearing ninety and the years had taken their toll. As a result, she had been placed in a long-term care facility. My parents and I went to visit her, and I recall thinking how good she looked. Her eyes were bright and clear, her skin was youthful and firm, and it showed none of the signs of her actual age. Above all, her mind was still sharp. She recognized me right away, even though it had been some time since we had last seen each other.

She and my parents spoke about the old days. My father related the times when he and his younger brother would skip school during the lunch hour and walk the few short blocks to where my aunt was living at the time. Apparently, they preferred simple sandwiches and the company of their older sister to high school cafeteria food. My aunt not only remembered those lunch hours, she also recalled a number of other details from their childhood, and they included a number of funny memories of their different siblings. They spoke about holidays and summer camping as well as the topic never far from my aunt’s mind – her faith. My aunt even asked about each of my parent’s children, my siblings. She remembered all of us by name, her questions revealed she knew where we all lived and the various circumstances of our current lives. Having lost touch with the details of so many of my own nieces and nephews over the years, I was impressed with her grasp of details for her brother’s children.

The only low point in the all-too brief visit came towards the end of our time together. Aunt Jenny paused for a long moment and looked out the window of her room. She sighed deeply, and turning back to my mom and dad, she asked,

“Why do I need to be here?”

My aunt had been a woman of deep faith for as long as I could remember. She always spoke about the Lord and how He was working in her life and the lives of everyone in our fami-ly. For her, God was truly present whether things were going well or poorly. As the oldest child in her family, she had been the inspiration for many of her younger siblings and their spouses beginning to investigate and deepen their own faith walk. Her uncomplicated and unflinching faith had served as a model for so many others. And at this moment, even her very real ques-tion about how the Lord was now working in her life was not doubt, so much as it was curiosity. However, it was clear that confusion about the ways of the Lord left her with a question she could not now answer.

My mother, sensing the strain in my aunt’s mind, and wishing to provide her with some comfort, knew exactly what Jenny needed to hear.

“Jenny,” my mother said, “this is where Jesus wants you right now.”

“Yes,” my aunt responded.

And then, as suddenly as it had arrived, the faraway look and questioning glance was replaced with a gesture of acceptance as my aunt’s tiny frame slowly sank into the mattress on the bed where she was propped up. Her eyes returned for just a moment to the window as she said again,

“Yes, you are right. This must be where He wants me.”

That seemed to settle the matter and there was no further discussion about it.

What my mother knew well was that Aunt Jenny had long ago arrived at the understand-ing that the quickest and safest road to holiness was to do all in one’s power to simply fulfill the Lord’s will in one’s life. And when His Will might require nothing other than passive acceptance, or even passive endurance, then the union of Wills between God and His creature was even more sure. Aunt Jenny knew well that the union of Wills between man and his Creator was the sole, or perhaps better said, soul objective of this spiritual journey we call life. This simple Truth was given by Jesus Himself when He taught us to pray,

“Thy Will be done.”