GlossolaliaPT 2026 - Flipbook - Page 3
meaningful relationships. I made
Only during the last ten years of her life
mistakes and endured
did I have intermittent opportunities to
misunderstandings that might have
speak with her in a more meaningful
been avoided if she had explained why
way. Everything before that feels
certain choices mattered, why some
blurred.
behaviors were harmful, or why certain
places should be avoided.
When she began showing symptoms of
dementia, our conversations became
She did not offer advice directly, but she
blurred and emotionally charged again.
made sure I attended Sunday school
It reminded me of my younger years,
every week. She also enrolled me in
when I questioned her decisions and
every self-help and hygiene-related
invited discussion, only for her to turn
class presented to her. In many ways,
instead to God and leave the outcome
she allowed the institutions around us to
of the conversation in His hands.
shape my sense of direction, discipline,
and relationships.
Memory, Loss, and a New
Understanding
After she passed away, images and
feelings began to surface in a language
of memory, imagination, and dreams.
What I remembered was not a series of
meaningful conversations from
childhood, but the shape of
conversations that seemed implied—
what they might have meant, and what
she may have been trying to express
without words.
I do not remember her sharing anything
deeply impactful or emotionally
instructive with me when I was young.
What remains is the memory of her
intent, and the way she directed me
elsewhere whenever I needed answers.
Now, after receiving the Holy Spirit
myself, I understand more deeply the
words she spoke over me and my
siblings during those long Saturday
morning prayer sessions, when we
gathered around her bed on our knees.
I understand what she feared, what she
desired for us, and what she was trying
to protect. That is the story I am trying
to tell.
