Slowly, shoulders bowed, grief weighing heavy on him, Bill made his way to Grandma’s house. Jean, the midwife, was old now. Her birth year was believed to be somewhere between 1868 and 1871, so she could have been anywhere from 101 to 103 years old. After a long life of midwifery service, not only to her own people but also to the Metis settlement and to some white people who sought her out, Jean now lived with her memories. 

        Sadly, Bill sighed. He wasn’t looking forward to this visit with his grandmother. His own heart heavy with sorrow, he was going there to tell her that Irene, his mother, had died. 

        As he labored along the uphill path to Jean’s house on that sad February day in 1974, Bill remembered how just last week life had seemed so good. The Jacksons’ new house at Goodfish Lake was finally ready for them to move in. It was a fine house. Built by the reserve for them a year or so after they returned to live there in 1972, the new house had a full basement. The main floor boasted two bedrooms, a kitchen, a sitting room—and a bathroom. Of course, there was no running water, nor any plumbing in the bathroom. That would come some years later. Meanwhile, there would still be a path across the yard where the grass would never grow.

        When the Jacksons moved their sparse belongings into the house, it still seemed bare. Always operating on a budget which stubbornly remained less than the minimum required, the Jacksons eventually got the necessary (used) furniture and appliances. In time, they even had a full-sized bathtub. Located in its proper place upstairs, it drained into five gallon pails in the basement. The Jackson children didn’t need to pump weights—lugging the bath water into, then out of the house, built up their muscles. 

        The house was only seven miles from Goodfish Lake where Bill was born and spent his first seven years. Yet, in those seven preschool years, Bill had never traveled to Whitefish Lake. In those days, people from the reserve usually traveled only to a specific destination for specific business—mostly because when Bill was a kid, all travel was done by horse and wagon or sleigh. 

        Thomas and Irene, Bill’s parents, drove to Whitefish Lake to visit. As they drove into the yard (could it only have been last week?) Bill thought how good it was to be among his people. The move had gone so well. Their children were settled in school. Their major surprise was the discovery that just about everybody in the community was related to their dad one way or another. Shirley, who had gone through a long spell of bad health complicated by two miscarriages, was now in much better health. The community was glad to welcome the Jackson family. Christians in the community particularly appreciated God’s servants among them. All in all, God’s hand of blessing was upon them. Life was good. 

        A week later, the shock of Irene’s sudden death broke into their sense of peace and well-being, stunning Bill and Shirley. Devout in her religion, Irene had gone to the Sunday morning Roman Catholic service as usual. She died of a heart attack right there in church. 

        To some people on the reserve, Irene’s place of death appeared as some kind of special blessing. Others observed that even the church couldn’t prevent Irene’s heart attack. Bill had no comment on that. From wide experience he had discovered that people who do not accept the Bible as God’s Word are open to all kinds of assumptions. God’s Word was clear about death and eternal life. He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him (John 3:36). 

        Knowing that Irene had heard God’s message of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, Bill committed his dear mother to God. He knew he could not judge his mother’s spiritual state. The Bible says that The Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart (1 Samuel 16:7). He also knew that all he could do was commit the matter to the Lord and get on with life. Irene’s life on earth was now past. But his mother’s sudden death gave Bill a deeper awareness of the uncertainty and brevity of life. From the depths of his own personal grief at losing the mother he loved, Bill rededicated himself to the task of telling others the way to eternal life.