Sadly, my wonderful 96year old Wee Maw, Mrs Brenda Urquhart (nee Young), died on 15^th January after 2 weeks asleep in Crosshouse Hospital’s Stroke Unit receiving exceptional loving ‘end of life care’. It gave our family time to say our ‘au revoirs’ & assure her of our deep love.

Tears are never far from my eyes at the best of times & I’ve been a bubbling brook of gratitude. Latterly Mum was very frail with poor hearing & sight, but like a ‘homing pigeon’ daily she followed her trusty routes round the block & into town. Having taught half of Largs’s older residents Mrs U was well known & loved a chinwag when people stopped to chat. Fortunately when Mum tumbled she was recognised quickly by a passerby & the necessary help was got.

Let me tell you about this smiling, proper, well organised, straightlaced, good humoured, generous, adventurous, courageous, resilient woman of faith, hope & love: Mother to 2 sons, Grandma to 5 grandchildren & Great GeeMa to 5 (nearly 6) great grandchildren. Born & brought up in Paisley, Brenda came to meaningful Christian faith in her teens, studied French & German at Glasgow Uni, did teacher training at Jordanhill College & taught student teachers in Nigeria as a Church of Scotland Mission Partner. My late father proposed to her by letter (something she initially balked at, but fortunately re-considered once she calmed down & realised that Alec would make a lovely husband). They worked in mission together in Nigeria & gave birth to me in Lagos. Tragically dad died when I was 2, Mum pregnant with my wee brother, Roddy. Together, we moved in with Brenda’s parents in Largs, where she became head of modern languages at Largs High / Academy & taught me French in my 2^nd & 5^th years (boy did I keep a low profile in her class & make sure I worked hard & never got the belt there!). She helped run a successful Scripture Union (SU), at times 150 youngsters crammed into Mr Craig’s physics lab. She took us cycling on Arran, skiing in Glenshee, & exploring Belgium & France. Retiring about 35 years ago she continued supporting SU in Largs & N Ayrshire, teaching in Bible Class, helping with ‘Churches Together’ holiday clubs, pastoring people as church elder, & orchestrating Bible story puppet shows.

I could tell you so much more about Mrs U, my awesome Wee Maw who was a profound influence on me and helped me grow up with a sunny smile, optimistic & faithful despite the guff that life can sometimes throw at us.

Latterly, despite her fragility Brenda made church most Sundays, the Guild on Mondays, & her pensioners’ lunch group. A mobile phone was beyond her, but she used an iPad for email & Facebook to a limited degree. She was always so interested in how everyone was doing & prayed faithfully for many. Thankfully Mum lived largely independently till her stroke. We enjoyed some quality family time with her around her 96^th birthday & Christmas celebrations. Lying helpless for 2 weeks in Crosshouse Hospital she did not fight her wind-down in this world but trusted in Jesus, a mindset she had daily practised reading her well-worn Bible & trusting in the Lord with all her heart. Some mornings she’d wake to wonder why she was still here. She was ready for Jesus to carry her into God’s nearer presence.

Henri Nouwen, travelling with a high trapeze circus act, was struck by how critical it was for the flyer not to try and catch the catcher, otherwise they would fall. Rather the flyer had to simply stretch out their arms & hands in trust that the catcher, hanging from their swinging trapeze, would catch & bring them safely to the other side. As I sat with my dying mother it was such a comfort to see her simply trusting Jesus to catch & carry her into a brand-new shiny dimension, with the prospect of remarkable reunions. We can’t save ourselves, but we can trust in Jesus to save us!

Thankyou God for such a wonderful mother! Mum’s Celebration of Life service is in Largs on 17^th February 12noon in Clark Memorial’s Sanctuary. All Welcome!

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