On this week's episode, Just a few months after losing his dad, Dom’s mom has died, so Dom and Melanie take time to remember her place in his life and his family’s lives, especially the gift of her faith.
My remembrance of Mom that I read during the show:
I don't intend to canonize my mother but to remember in all the many ways she pointed us all toward Christ even in the midst of the sufferings and trials and mistakes and triumphs and joys of life. Her life's legacy is in her 5 children and their spouses and her grandchildren and now their spouses and her beloved friends. Her legacy is the faith we carry, the faith she handed on to us. What missionary in a foreign land would not recognize the profound witness of faith she gave us?
Virginia's life was challenging from the start. She was at times separated from her father for extended periods and we have a letter she wrote him during one of those times, showing her love for and longing for her dad. And then he died when she was only 7. She was an only child and so her world was often her books and toys.
But as a mother she worked hard to give us what she didn't have as a girl, including the love of a big family, but also many experiences. She took us on vacations and even until very recently would talk about her plans to take the grandkids to Disney World. She loved to take us to restaurants and let us experience all kinds of foods. But she also understood the essential truth that comes from breaking bread together, that in gathering around the table, we bring love and find love. Around many tables, we experienced not just food, but joy. I cannot count all the times that a meal was followed by an hour or more of laughter and stories. In fact, I would say one defining characteristic of our family is that in the face of life's struggles, our response is often joy and laughter.