EPITAPH : Remembering Mama

MAMA PASSED away ten years ago today. What she had bequeathed to us, her eleven children, continue to bind us together to this day: her love for Bahá'u'lláh and the teachings of His Faith, a passion for laughter, and an indelible devotion to family. Even in the final, painful hours of her life, the sense of duty to her children never failed. She hung on until her youngest grandchild Zayca celebrated her first birthday in January that year. And no matter how ravaged the diabetes-ridden body was, the spirit was solid: she died gracefully, peacefully in her sleep three weeks later.

I join the rest of my family in remembering our mother, Zaida Linda Mijares Ancheta (1933-1998), on the tenth anniversary of her passing, with the following words from the Bahá'í scriptures.

O Son of Justice! Whither can a lover go but to the land of his beloved? and what seeker findeth rest away from his heart’s desire? To the true lover reunion is life, and separation is death. His breast is void of patience and his heart hath no peace. A myriad lives he would forsake to hasten to the abode of his beloved.

Source: Bahá'u'lláh, “The Hidden Words of Bahá'u'lláh”