IN MEMORY OF MY MOTHER
April 2008
My mother, Margaret Ann Jensema, was born on Sept. 14, 1923 on a farm near Gibbsville, WI. Her parents were Peter & Lilah; she was the oldest of 3 children. Margaret went to a one-room school, Beaver Creek School, and to 2 years of high school in Oostburg.
She married Bernard Schreurs on Sept. 8, 1949.
He worked as a farm hand. Their
first child, Jim, was born in ’52. Wendell
was born in ’55, and Leon Jonathan in ’57.
Ann was born in ’58. However,
tragedy struck when Leon died of pneumonia in May, ’59.
Losing a young child has an impact on a family.
Margaret was grieving when discovered she was expecting another child; I
was born in Jan., ’60. I’ve
wondered, Did Mom pray extra for me because she was grieving the loss of Leon?
About this time, the family moved to a larger house where Bernard had lived while growing up. Karen was born in ’62, and Jane in ’65. When we were growing up, Mom loved our family and met our needs and wants. Sometimes she struggled to take care of 6 growing, hungry, busy kids. Mom helped us with our Bible lessons and memory verses; she took us to First Reformed Church in Cedar Grove. We said the Lord’s Prayer before and after meals.
Mom & Dad celebrated their 25th anniversary in ’74. Jim & Wendell took them out to eat, and then to a surprise birthday at Uncle Glenn’s house, where Ann wore Mom’s wedding dress. In March,’77, I accepted Christ into my heart and starting walking with Him.
In the spring of 1978, my senior year in high school, Mom
got sick and went to the doctor who admitted her to the hospital for tests.
A week or 2 later, she was diagnosed with cancer of the liver, but it was
too far advanced to be treated. She
had a lot of pain and received much pain medicine.
A week later, she came home. She
was very weak; it took all her strength to come to the table for meals.
On Thursday, her condition got worse, and Dad took her back
to the hospital. On Friday, she
slipped into a coma. Dad and Aunt
Lorraine spent the night with her. On
Sat. afternoon, we stood around her bed as her breathing stopped.
A Catholic nun came and said the Lord’s Prayer with us.
She was 54-years-old.
On Sun, neighbors came to express their sympathy; it was
the first time I ever saw Dad cry. On
Mon., we went to the funeral home for her visitation. Her funeral was on
Tuesday. Losing Mom was very
hard.
Mother’s Day came the next Sun., but Mom was gone.
Three weeks after her death, I graduated from high school.
Our family was not the same. Mom
had nurtured us and often been the glue holding us together.
Later that year, events happened that made me feel like God was calling me into the ministry. I’ve sometimes wondered, Why did God call me into the ministry? Looking back now, I wonder if it was in response to Mom’s prayers when she was expecting me.
On Oct. 18, 1988, my sister Ann & her husband
Phil named their daughter after our Mom; today, everyone calls her Maggie.
On Dec. 16, 1988, we named our daughter Megan after her paternal grandma;
Megan is the Irish form of Margaret.
My paternal Grandma died when I was just
6 years old. Then Mom died in 1978 – 30 years ago. In the years that followed, my maternal Grandma became more
precious, and God blessed us many years of her kind presence.
She died in 1988 at age 97.
In the Bible, Timothy’s sincere faith first lived in his
grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice (2 Timothy 1:5).
On this Mothers’ Day, let us thank our mothers for loving us in tender
ways, and for influencing us with their faith.
We thank our mothers for teaching us by their example.
If your mother has passed away, perhaps you can write or do or say
something to honor your memory of her.
HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!