 Kitty Taylor's mother was dying in a crowded charity ward in a large impersonal city hospital. Kitty's father, an alcoholic, had left the family four years before. So Kitty, at fourteen, had become the little mother in the family and cared for her three younger brothers after school. And now Dr. Gordon told Kitty that her mother had cancer. "If your mother is lucky, she'll last three months," he said. "And if she is even luckier, she won't last three months." Harsh as the words sounded, Kitty understood. The pain was so bad, and it would become much worse. But Mrs. Taylor wanted to live. Each day that God granted her she felt was a blessing. She knew that as long as she remained alive, her children would not be placed in an orphanage or foster homes. So she prayed and clung to life. And Dr. Gordon who had given up hope for her long before, shook his head wonderingly as the months stretched on and on. "It's just a miracle," he said, moving on to the next patient. There was nothing more he could do for Mrs. Taylor. And since he could not help her, Kitty's mother tried to help him. "When death comes swiftly, suddenly, one cannot prepare for it," she said. "But since I know that I am dying and each day may be my last, I can make it a day of beauty and blessedness." Kitty was allowed to come to her mother's bedside, and each day she brushed her mother's long hair and pinned a pink ribbon in it. Mrs. Taylor would send Kitty around to speak to other patients in the ward who had no company to cheer them. She asked Kitty to bake some cookies to bring in as a gift of appreciation to the nurses and doctors. She always thanked the nurses who came in to give her medicine. She bloomed with life as she lay dying with a pink ribbon in her hair. At last, when there was no more strength left in her body, Mrs. Taylor passed away. But her day-by-day struggle to show how precious life was did not count for nothing. The doctor who had attended her adopted all four children so they could stay together. "This woman taught me a great lesson," Dr. Gordon told the judge as he signed the adoption papers. "She showed me how to face death beautifully, and the pink ribbon was her badge of courage." --Morning Riser, page 254. Are you blooming where you are planted? And breathed on us His love, And gave us of the spirit that Prevails in heaven above. We stand here meekly blooming for The stranger passing by; And if unnoticed we are left, We never stop to sigh, But shed our fragrance all abroad, And smile in shine or rain. And thus we do the will of God Till He restores again. A realm of peace on earth, to last The countless ages through; Where flowers bloom and never fade; And there is room for you. --Ida Reese Kurz Away from gardens fair; But I must sing the sweetest songs Because He placed me there. Not beat my wings against the cage If it's my Maker's will, But raise my voice to heaven's gate And sing the louder still! Sometimes life seems hard to bear, Full of sorrow, trouble, and woe; It's then I have to remember That it's in the valleys I grow. If I always stayed on the mountain top And never experienced pain, I would never appreciate God's Love And would be living in vain. I have so much to learn And my growth is very slow, Sometimes I need the mountain tops, But it's in the valleys I grow. I do not always understand Why things happen as they do, But I am very sure of one thing. My Lord will see me through. My little valleys are nothing When I picture Christ on the cross He went through the valley of death; His victory was Satan's loss. Forgive me, Lord, for complaining When I'm feeling so very low. Just give me a gentle reminder That it's in the valleys I grow. Continue to strengthen me, Lord, And use my life each day To share your love with others And help them find their way. Thank you for valleys, Lord, For this one thing I know The mountain tops are glorious But it's in the valleys I grow. --Tracy Mayfield 
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