Everyone Cam

Mary Jo Euton

My wife's Mom passed away last Saturday. I thought I would share the eulogy I gave at her funeral. She was a great lady.

FAITH, HOPE AND LOVE

MARY JO EUTON
1937 – 2009

When my wife, Kimberly, asked if I could say a few words about Mom, I was a little worried. After all, I’m fairly new to this family. I wasn’t sure I was worthy of this honor…that I could possibly put into words just how wonderful Mom was…how important her life was to all of us…and how very much we loved her.

The thing about Mom, she wasn’t hard to figure out. And so, in the short time that I had the honor of knowing her, I think I can say that I honestly knew who she was. So, it didn’t take long for my worry to end and I was filled with peace as three words came to my mind that, to me, best describe who Mom was.

Those three words are: Faith, Hope and Love.

Mom raised seven wonderful children: Karen, Patrick, Cathy, Michael, Mark, Mickey and my beautiful wife, Kimberly. What greater gift is there in life than a Mother’s Love? Mom loved her children unconditionally, in both words and deeds. And, in many ways, I believe that this unconditional love we received from Mom is the truest example of God’s love for all of us. We always knew that Mom loved us, just as we know God loves us. And, just as there are times when we disappoint our Heavenly Father, there have been times in life when we made poor decisions or did something stupid and disappointed Mom.

Now, I’ve spent some time around my brothers-in-law, Mark and Patrick, so I can say this with a certain amount of confidence. I’m sure Mom tasted disappointment more than a few times in her life. But, even after those times we disappointed Mom, her unconditional love for us was always there. Mom was always there for us to love, support and guide us. She came to all our football games, baseball games, basketball games, drill team, cheerleading, weddings, the births of our children…all of the important milestones in our life. And in times of trouble, pain and sorrow Mom was our safe place. Always there for us…always loving us.

I know Mom had a strong Faith in God. I can remember many times when Mark or I would be teasing her and she would lift her eyes to the Heavens and say, “God, please help me,” or “God, please don’t let me say something ugly!”

I can think of two other examples of Mom’s strong faith in God. When Michael passed away, Mom was very angry at God because of the timing and manner of Michael’s death. But, if you think about it, in order to be angry at God, Mom had to believe that He exists. And her faith got her through it because she often said later on, “God didn’t abandon me when Michael died. He’s the one that gave me strength and got me through it.”

The other example was more recent and happened shortly after her heart surgery. Mom was in recovery and we were only allowed to see her for fifteen minutes every two hours. Mark had been visiting with Mom in the hospital and as he was getting ready to leave he said, “Momma, I’m worried about you.” Mom said to Mark, “Don’t worry about me Mark. The Good Lord is gonna take care of me.” These were Mom’s last words here on Earth and are a great comfort to me. I hope they are to you too.

Mom’s love for us and her strong faith in God are a great source of Hope for me. I have always believed that when God calls us home, we are going to a better place. A place where there is no pain, no sorrow, no tears. My hopes and dreams of what Heaven must be like have just gotten a whole lot better because Mom is there. When I think of her now, she’s beautiful. She’s no longer in pain…She’s in heaven, holding hands with Michael, Aunt Dot, Aunt Queenie, and her Mom and Dad. How happy she must be. I can see Mom in my mind as she is about to meet God. He hands her a nice, cold can of Sprite Zero and a 3 Musketeers candy bar. Then God puts His arms around her and as He draws her close He says, “Welcome home Mary Jo. Thank you my loving and faithful servant.”

So, as we take Mom home today how is it that we can best honor her and the example she set for all of us?

We can live a life full of Faith, full of Hope and full of Love.

John 16: 20 – 22

“I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child has been born into the world. So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.”

Posted by haywood at September 25, 2009 03:05 PM