On January 4th 1942 a beautiful little lady named Mary Kay Berndt was born to the parents of Dorothy and Robert Loutt in Indianapolis. This beautiful young girl grew up to be a beautiful young lady and then a beautiful mother to three children, the first being Belinda Sue Nelson, the second being me Michael Jay Nelson, and last but definitely not last, Jeffery Allen Berndt. During her time as a loving mother to us three, the four of us were put into some very awful and ugly situations that nearly tore all of us apart. There were some days where we honestly did not know how any of us were going to survive but my mother made sure that we would all three of us be God fearing, loving, caring individuals that would watch out for each other and be willing to help each other if any one of us wasnt able to. One by one, the three of us after much struggle and turmoil were able to spread our wings and leave the nest and go out into the world and become productive citizens and accomplish our life goals. It was during this time that my beautiful mother fell ill and couldnt shake what she described as feeling bad so she went to the doctor and they ran some tests and came back to here and told her that the news wasnt good. She had cancer and it was spreading. My mother being the beautiful woman that she is decided that day she found out that she had cancer decided that day to continue to live her life as close to normal as she could and to not let it get her down. She went through both chemo and radiation therapy which drained her of every ounce of strength she had but she was still keeping her spirits about her. After all of her therapy the cancer went into remission for a couple of years and she had honestly thought God had given her a new lease on life and she made a promise to God that she will become a better Christian ( I honestly didnt think she could have been a better Christian because I always saw her as the perfect Christian). My mother started to do things that left me in awe, from spending time with lonely patients in hospital rooms, to talking to strangers that were in need and giving unselfishly of herself to anyone that needed a helping hand or a shoulder to cry on, or an ear to bend, my mother was there for them. One day while she was doing all this for everyone else, I asked her why she was doing this, was it because she felt she needed to make amends to her God ( at that time I was still an atheist) for sparing her life? She looked at me and smiled and said something to me that changed my life forever. She said with a sincere smile on her face, God asks nothing of me but for me to love Him and trust Him and follow His rules for life just like I ask of you to do for me. I said to her in curiosity, Explain. She then went on about how God has changed her life through the power of prayer and through the kindness of His servants. Being the skeptic I was back in those days I honestly couldnt understand what she was telling me so I just left it at that and changed the subject. It wasnt maybe two days later that I decided I wanted to know more so I found a young preacher that was as bullheaded and stubborn as me and we debated over the whole subject of God and Jesus, and the Bible and slowly but surely he was winning me over. I never told my mom that I was holding a conversation with a preacher but eventually I finally did so and the light in her smile was so bright that it almost blinded me. She hugged me and told me she was happy to hear that I was starting to straighten my life out ( my life was a mess unlike any mess anyone had ever seen). I continued to argue with this young preacher and he kept coming back to get some more. Lol, I like to say he finally wore me down and I finally conceded that yes God was real and that Jesus was His son. I went home to let my mom know that I was going to be baptized by this young man the following Sunday and that I wanted her to be there for it. You would have thought I told her that she had won the lottery with all the laughing and crying going on. That Sunday I went up into the baptismal pool and was baptized and as soon as I came up from under the water I could see my mom smiling at me while whipping a tear from her eye. Two weeks later my beautiful mother was having some problems with her breathing so she went to the doctor and they immediately put her into the hospital. It seemed as though her cancer came back with a strong vengeance and was not going to retreat this time. I feel bad during this time because for the next two weeks I was only able to get to see her four times. Each time was more difficult to see her but I went with a smile on my face and tried to keep it together for her as much as I could. August 7th was the last time I saw her alive and it wasnt a pretty sight. She was laboring to breathe and she was heavily medicated. I stroked her hair and gave her a kiss on the forehead, she opened her eyes and looked right at me still trying hard to breathe, I just smiled at her and said, Its ok mom, everything will be ok. Go in peace. On August 8th of 2006 I receive a phone call from my sister telling me at 12 midnight to get to the hospital as soon as I could. I literally rushed out of the apartment in such a disheveled state that I forgot how to button my pants or shirt and I looked like a hobo when I arrived. My mom had passed away mere minutes before anyone of us could get there. The intern asked me if I wanted to view her one last time and I couldnt do it. I was on the verge of breaking down and going into hysterics so I opted out and instead watch my niece while my sister and brother went in to say goodbye. For the next few days it was like a blur. Tammy was trying to do her best to comfort me but it was no use, I was heading into a severe depression if something wasnt done. The day of my moms funeral was the day I finally broke down and let it all out. I bawled like a baby wanting to be fed. Thank the Dear Lord my family and Tammy were there to help me deal with the funeral. After the funeral I needed some time to think and gather my thoughts so I contacted my young preacher friend that baptized me and we talked from 5:00 p.m. Friday evening straight through until 6:00 a.m. Saturday morning. We also got drunk as all get out but hey I was trying to improve on my situation. My friend told me something that made sense to me. My mothers mission was to make sure that all of her kids would be brought to Jesus and now that her job was finished she was called home. I like to believe that that is the truth. The reason I am sharing this with all of you today is because I was listening to a song on the radio by Neil Diamond of all people. Neil Diamond was my moms FAVORITE singer, anyway, as I was listening to Neil sing I started to think of my mom. My young preacher friend was right. Her job was done. I have come so far down the road as a Christian and still have a LONG way to go, that I am not the same man I once was. My life will always be full of difficulties and problems to overcome but I have learned that to always trust in Jesus and the problems will rectify themselves within time. I credit my beautiful Lord Jesus Christ for making Mary Kay Berndt my mother. This is her belated birthday present from me. Her birthday was January 4th and I didnt know what to get her so I went out to her tomb Friday before work and placed a few of her favorite flowers on her and my grandmothers tombs (another great lady in my life) and sat and talked to her for awhile before work. Happy 74th belated birthday from your son that you never gave up hope on being a Christian. I love you and miss you. but most of all I thank you.
Posted on: Sun, 09 Mar 2014 07:22:43 +0000
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