One of the richest persons I have ever known died the other day.
She left behind a bank account with
no money in it. She didn’t own a house, either.
No stocks or bonds in a portfolio.
Not even an old car. She did have a nice microwave, though, even if she didn’t know how to use it.
She was never a person of any
stature in the business community. She was never once quoted in the newspaper. And never a homecoming queen.
But, still, she was one of the richest persons I’ve ever known.
I knew Geraldine for eighteen years. She was my mother-in-law for sixteen of those years. If there is a stereotype about a mother-in-law being wicked, mean and vindictive, she did not fit that mold.
Instead, she was pleasant, gentle and kind, one who loved her family and her friends. She even loved me, which made it easy accept having her around.
“Is your mom coming with us?” I’d often ask my wife.
I must’ve asked it too many times. “Jeff, this is our honeymoon,” Kim said finally. “My mom is not coming with us.”
She left behind a bank account with
no money in it. She didn’t own a house, either.
No stocks or bonds in a portfolio.
Not even an old car. She did have a nice microwave, though, even if she didn’t know how to use it.
She was never a person of any
stature in the business community. She was never once quoted in the newspaper. And never a homecoming queen.
But, still, she was one of the richest persons I’ve ever known.
I knew Geraldine for eighteen years. She was my mother-in-law for sixteen of those years. If there is a stereotype about a mother-in-law being wicked, mean and vindictive, she did not fit that mold.
Instead, she was pleasant, gentle and kind, one who loved her family and her friends. She even loved me, which made it easy accept having her around.
“Is your mom coming with us?” I’d often ask my wife.
I must’ve asked it too many times. “Jeff, this is our honeymoon,” Kim said finally. “My mom is not coming with us.”
Geraldine was rich because she had love in her heart. She also had peace of mind, for it was not clouded by all the turbulence the world and our own selfish nature can bring.In all the years I knew her, she never had an enemy. There was no one she talked bad about or had any secret revenge against. In today’s world, that’s rare. Everywhere Geraldine went, she greeted people with smiles and hugs and hellos.
She was not consumed by worldly possessions. When she owned homes, they were simple, just like the cars she used to drive. She never gave a thought that a certain town or zip code had more status than another one.
She also didn’t feel the need to control the people around her. In her mind, she had freedom, so why shouldn’t everyone around her enjoy it, too? Just because someone’s idea for something was different than hers, that didn’t make it bad. Just unique.
She had the love and support of her entire family – 12 of her 15 brothers and sisters who are still alive, plus a son and three daughters. In today’s world when drama rules many households, Geraldine was the family matriarch who led with a quiet, gentle strength.
She was a remarkable woman.
What made her richest of all was her unshakable faith. She buried three husbands and a one-year-old little boy during her lifetime. She battled the customary problems of teenagers and the expense that comes with them, plus in her later years, a declining health.
But through it all she never turned her back on God. She thanked Him for all of her many blessings, and knew she would join him in heaven someday.
She made that final journey on Friday the 13th, of all days, and she made it with a smile on her face.
In the days since then, her loss has been felt by many, including those in my house. Every day my wife finds a song, a smell, a fabric of clothing or some alignment of the clouds that remind her of her mom, which causes her to cry.
That is soon replaced by a wonderful memory and a loving touch of assurance that must come from angels, and she is assured that her mother is in blissful eternity.
It’s then that Kim shares in her mother’s wealth.
The kind of wealth money can’t buy.