Photo credit @Rochelle Wisoff-Fields
Faith Shaken
Kneeling in deference to the rituals of her youth, “Holy Mary Mother of God,” she prayed, stumbling over the words, searching for a faith that had long eluded her, “surely You, must understand?” The ceiling fan in the hospital chapel rattled in an off-balance cadence; tilting on its axis, much like the grieving mother. No whispered answers, no shroud of peace, no closer to understanding; she rose from the bench and returned to the ICU. Alone with her decision, she nodded yes, it was time to let go. The machinery stopped.
In the silence that followed, her child reached the light, a guiding Mother’s hand ensuring safe passage.
You can find more flash fiction here.
What's for dinner, Doc? 
Heart-wrenching story! Trust in a kinder immortal mother must have allowed the mortal mother to let go.
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I think that’s the point about any faith, we (at least I), never really get a direct answer. Nor do I expect one.
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No one gets a direct answers…It’s the answers we give to ourselves at the end that matter.
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Gave me chills. Good work!
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Victo,
I felt the pain of the mother and the physician. I’m sure you’ve had to facilitate these end of life decisions too. Such a privilege and a burden we share.
Tracey
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Well written, heartfelt journey. Love the description ‘off-balance cadence; tilting on its axis, much like the grieving mother’.
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Thank you Yolanda and thanks for stopping by.
Tracey
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That tugged at the heartstrings. I guess she knew it was time.
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Thank you for stopping by. Your heart isn’t safe around this blog. I write about human suffering a lot, but promise that the food posts will be heart healthy. š
Tracey
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I would guess a decision like that would be the hardest ever to take.. loosing a child.. so sad and so well written.
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Bjorn,
I watched my Mother make that decision with my oldest sister years ago. So painful for everyone involved. I don’t know where that strength comes from.
Tracey
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Wow! Excellent! Filled with emotion and tension. The end was so sad, but you also made it beautiful.
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Joy,
Thank you. What a lovely compliment.
Tracey
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It was a wonderful story!
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I can not imagine….but your story helps me to.
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I can only imagine it myself and for that I am grateful.
T
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somehow a mother must know it was time to let go.
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Dear Tracey,
This one brought tears.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Rochelle,
The tears flowed for me as well. It’s been a rough week. I have always struggled with my own feelings about faith. I’m always out of step with my family’s deep faith.
Thank you for the tears,
Tracey
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Hard enough to lose a mother, but devastating to lose a child. Well told. š
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I agree. I don’t know if I would have the strength to endure it.
Tracey
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Been there. Done that. Still wondering if I did the right thing.
DJ
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DJ,
I hope that it’s some comfort to you to know that doctors don’t give you choices about end of life decisions unless there is no other choice to make. Meaning that the final outcome will be the same regardless of the decision that you make.
Thank you for sharing that with me,
Tracey
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Thanks! That’s a comfort. Father and Sister.
DJ
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I could picture it so vividly. Losing a child is certainly one of the things that can shake one’s faith.
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Thank you. I agree. This piece started with a visual and wrote itself.
Tracey
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Such a very sad story, such a difficult decision.
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Sandy,
Sad but I wanted you to feel the mother’s peace in the end as well. Whether or not her decision was guided by a higher power, I’ll never know.
Thank you for the French river stories.
Tracey
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Oh my, I can hear the weighty groan of the unsteady fan and feel the heaviness of the grieving mother’s heart. Poetically written.
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Yes! That was exactly what I was trying to express with the fan.
Tracey
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Mission accomplished!
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I loved the line about the out-of-balance fan. A perfect fit for the emotions swirling during that situation. Faith is a difficult thing to wrap one’s mind around. Even us believers have doubts. However, hope is what delivers comfort and and your last line gave us that freedom to let go.
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Russell,
Your comment gave me pause to reflect so I re-read my other stories about human suffering. I do have a tendency to leave the reader with hope and I avoid writers who leave me feeling hopeless. “Hope is what delivers comfort.” I have faith in that.
Thank you,
Tracey
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So many wonderful touches to your story, Tracey. The imagery works so well to convey the mother’s state of mind. A really moving scene.
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thank you Margaret.
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I can’t imagine having to make that difficult decision as a mother. What a heart-wrenching story. Well done.
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Sometimes letting go is all that’s left to do for a loved one. Such a heartbreak of a story, and an imaginative take on the prompt. Great!
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I agree. Thank you for the praise.
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Sad. Just how does one make decisions like that?
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It helps if you have had these discussions before the end if life but you would never think to discuss it with a child of course. We never expect to bury our children.
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The last gift you can give is the hardest. Heart-wrenching, and you told it so well.
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Thank you. I’ve been on both sides of these decisions. As family and physician. (Clearly not as the patient.)
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A realistic story, told with such compassion. Lovely.
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Thanks Jan.
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Very sad story, such a terrible and difficult decision to have to make.
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Thanks Ali
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I like that you didn’t end your story in death, but in answered prayer.
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Perhaps we never know if or when our prayers are answered. I’m sure that in the moment this mother felt abandoned.
Thank you for commenting.
Tracey
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I don’t know. I’ve felt it when my prayers are answered. Maybe she did too.
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A sad, gentle story with a happy ending even though the mother hasn’t realized. It would be so heartbreaking to finally come to the acceptance you have to let go of a loved one. It would especially tear at the heart of a mother to let her child go. Lovely story, Tracey,and so well written. — Suzanne
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Thank you Suzzanne. I think all of us can relate to this mother’s grief.
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