A Praying Mom: An Interview with my mother, Mary.

So before we begin, this is a banner day for this show. This week represents our seventh anniversary on the air with me and himself, the Baron of the Board, Assault of the Sound, the Earl of Engineering, the man who is just so sharp he's banned from ever holding a balloon. He is Jon Butler, the Count of Mighty Disco, and we're glad to have you with us. Seven years, Jon. Absolutely. Absolutely. A pleasure to see your face as always, even in this time of remote working and all the good stuff. We were ahead of this curve, baby.

We've been working remotely for some time. I want to hear Jon more and louder. If you want to hear Jon more and louder, that'll have to be something I do a little bit later. That is, of course, Gracie Rosen. Yes, my wife, Gracie, who I was going to introduce, but she beat me to it. She said that. Well, no. Well, and happy Mother's Day to you, Gracie.

Thank you so much. But by the way, on the joke, I think it would have been funnier if you'd said so sharp he sets off the TSA, you know, alarms every time he tries. That would have been funnier.

Let me let me handle the heavy lifting of the humor, baby. Okay. So my son, Malcolm, you've met Malcolm before.

I have indeed. Malcolm is he just he just turned seven and he just turned eight. Is that right? Yeah. Wow.

Okay. It's the birthday was just a second ago. So but he looked up at me the other day and we were making we were making breakfast and it was cheese omelets. And I said, oh, yeah, grab me some of that cheddar cheese.

And he said, I'm going to be real careful because it's sharp. And I was so proud. I was so proud.

Where are you? Is that the right word? I really was. All right. Well, also speaking of special guest, I have a very special guest on my show. We've been having a series of of a list celebrities on the show, but I've saved the best for the last year. And I have my mother on the show on the show today. Mom, you with us?

I'm with you. Well, I'm glad this is my mother, Mary. Now, let me tell you a little bit about my mom. I asked her, I said, Mom, I want you to come on the show for Mother's Day. She said, I sound awful. Well, Mom had congestive heart failure just a couple of years ago and we about lost her. She was in the hospital for a lengthy period and they had to do a tracheotomy on her and all these kinds of things.

It was a Gracie lengthy period. And it was it was pretty dicey. In fact, we didn't know if you were going to make it with us there, Mom. And you have indeed. And she said, Well, I sound awful. And I said, Mother, there are a lot of people that would love to hear their mother's voice, no matter how it sounds. And so I'm glad to hear your voice on my show today. So thank you for being a part of the show today. And then, of course, I always have you that voice you hear beside me.

And that's Gracie. And she was telling me I was going to give you an intro, but you kind of just ran out on stage. We've got a lot to talk about this. We don't need an intro. Well, no. And let's be fair here. The woman who needs no introduction. Nor does she nor waits for one. But it's.

But let's just go ahead and just blunder out on stage. That's OK. Well, Mom, first off, how you feel today, Mom? Happy Mother's Day. I feel very good. And I've had a wonderful day. Are you relaxed? Are you in a place right now at the house where you're relaxed? Is it kind of quiet? It's quiet now.

It's the train went through and it left and now I've got my feet propped up and it's very quiet, very peaceful. Have you heard from everybody yet in the family? Everybody.

OK. Well, let me know. Let me go to the list what that means for her to hear from everybody, because I'm not. Well, I'm one of six children. I have four brothers and a sister. My youngest brother lives in the Middle East. So I don't know what time he calls for. He calls early.

OK. Well, I figured he would. And then my oldest brother lives down below us in Salt Lake and we're out in Montana. Two brothers in South Carolina, a sister in South Carolina. Then Mom has 17 grandchildren. Seventeen.

And this year she will have great grandchild number 18, 19 and 20. Did I get that right, Mom? That's right. You're good.

Well, there would be no math on this. That's that's rather tribal. At this point, we've got a we've got a rather large group. I think that's a full. What is it?

Queer quiver for ever the full quiver. So, Mom, as you reflect on Mother's Day and also this is not coming out. Let me give you a little bit of background on my mother, because I'm going to I'm a pepper her with a lot of questions. And but Mom started out as a caregiver with her brother and her brother had some serious medical issues that eventually cost him his life.

That's where I first started seeing the whole journey of caregiving. And then she took care of her mother, who had significant health issues. And she has a daughter in law who has significant health issues. That would be my wife, Gracie. She has a granddaughter with cerebral palsy and significant developmental issues.

That's my brother Richard's daughter. And this is not something you're unfamiliar with in your world of being with your sleeves rolled up into the lives of folks who are dealing with very significant issues. And as you reflect on that, Mom, what do you what do you think about this, this journey for caregivers? I mean, this is this is goes you go back. You know, a long ways doing this. What are your thoughts? I don't really think on it. It's radio. I need more than one sentence or one word.

OK, well, maybe pull it out of my mom. I remember some incidences. And I have to say, if that's what it's about, caregiving, it really was a wonderful experience, whether it was with Lee or with Gracie or with whatever. It's been nothing but wonderful and beautiful. I feel like I've entered into an intimacy with the work of God in each life.

But I haven't had long term things. I've been very blessed, but I've just had a wonderful experience with whoever. And there were times when I was sad, but you get over those times and they've just been I think of one particular thing right now. Peter, I think of when Gracie came home from the hospital with Parker and I was privileged because she couldn't get Parker out of the bed for his two o'clock feeding. I was privileged to sit in that room with her and pick Parker out of his bed and hand him to her mother, who looked so beautiful and radiant that night as she held her baby. And I thought, Lord, what a privilege to be able to be in here with my grandson and my daughter-in-law. And I have this kind of experience. They've been wonderful experiences. What changed about you? I'm speechless.

There's no wrong answer here, Mom, and you give more right answers than about anybody I know. What changed in your faith? You've had to watch some very painful, painful things. What changed in your faith through this process?

I don't think the change came till later. As you know, I prayed very long and very hard for my brother Lee, who was much younger than I was. And I was privileged to be a part of his life. And I prayed and I read Job and all those things that you wonder about.

And God seemed not to hear the prayer. But years later, as I sat with his wife, Diane, and we watched his daughter graduate with honors from Georgia Tech. I asked Diane about those times and she said, well, it was okay. And I realized, yeah, it was okay. It's part of life. And I think that the way my faith changes, there are just some things that are part of life. And if I can change it, that's good.

If I can't change it, then I still walk with Jesus through the rest of it. I remember, and this is one of the more poignant stories in my life with you. I would come home when I was in high school or college. I was working at a job that I had to work in the evening times.

And I would come home as, I think, a summer break or something. And Lee was going through, your brother Lee was going through such very, very difficult things. He had neurofibromatosis, which is a terrible disease. And he was going through some very hard, hard things. And you were watching it. Diane and his wife and their little girls were really, they were really just struggling. And you were watching this and trying to be of help in it. And it was just a brutal journey. And you were reading through the Book of Job extensively. That's John's favorite book in the Bible is the Book of Job.

Absolutely. And but I would come home and you'd fall, you had fallen asleep in the recliner many times. And I would cover you with an afghan. And while you were holding that Bible, and it was a Bible that all of my brothers and sister and I had given to you back in the 70s.

And I'd cover you up and I'd go on to bed and you'd stay asleep out there and you'd probably wake up in the middle of the night and keep reading as you were seeking out God's counsel in dealing with this. And you had notes in that Bible. Then later, many years later, you gave that Bible to Gracie and me. And as Gracie was going through a particularly brutal stretch of her own life, she was reading that same Bible and going through those same verses that you had underlined so many years earlier.

And I remember covering her up with an afghan. And while she fell asleep reading that same Bible and the irony is the name on the Bible says Mary Rosenberger. Well, Gracie's name is Mary Rosenberger as well. It's Mary Grace Rosenberger and yours is Mary Emma Rosenberger. So I had the distinct privilege of covering up two sleeping Mary Rosenberger's reading from the same Bible, going through the same issues, just at different time periods.

And it was just one of those kind of poignant moments for me that you've passed on this, this legacy of faith, of legacy of not demanding that you get the answers from God that you want, but that you're willing to seek Him in this thing and trust Him with it. And as you've walked through this with a lot of people, there are people today, Mom, and they're struggling because they're watching the same with the virus. They're watching this suffering in their own life. They don't know what to do. They don't know where to go. They're fearful.

And rightly so. This is a very scary time for a lot of people. But you've weathered a lot of scary times. What is something you'd like to say to them right now?

Well, I don't really know, Peter. But as you were talking, I was thinking about the night that Dad and I came up to your house. And it was the night before Gracie had her first leg amputated. And after a while, you and Dad and her dad went on to bed and Gracie and I stayed out in the living room. I'm sure Gracie remembers that. And Gracie started singing and we just sang.

And I think, you know, Lord, we didn't know a lot of what was going on. And it would have been nice to pee till that leg. But we just sang. And about four thirty in the morning, Gracie said, We're ready to go to bed.

And we slept for a few hours. Those are precious moments. And you don't get those kind of moments if you've never encountered the difficulties of life.

You just don't get those. But when you encounter such difficulties where there seems to be no answer and the way doesn't seem scary and it's unknown and all that stuff. It's those intimate times with God and with each other that make life what it is. And I cherish those kind of moments. And I guess there's been enough of them to get to this age to know that it's all right.

It's OK. Whatever. We're talking with my mother, Mary Rosenberger, and I come from a long line of mothers. And she really has been and continues to be an inspiration to me and to so many more. And Gracie's with us, too. We're going to dig in some more of these things. If you want to be a part of the show, eight, seven, seven, six, five, five, sixty seven, fifty five, eight, seven, seven, six, five, five, sixty seven, fifty five. This is Peter Rosenberger.

This is hopefully the caregiver. We'll be right back. Have you ever struggled to trust God when lousy things happen to you? I'm Gracie Rosenberger. And in 1983, I experienced a horrific car accident leading to 80 surgeries and both legs amputated. I questioned why God allowed something so brutal to happen to me.

But over time, my questions changed and I discovered courage to trust God. That understanding, along with an appreciation for quality prosthetic limbs, led me to establish Standing with Hope. For more than a dozen years, we've been working with the government of Ghana and West Africa, equipping and training local workers to build and maintain quality prosthetic limbs for their own people. On a regular basis, we purchase and ship equipment and supplies.

And with the help of inmates in a Tennessee prison, we also recycle parts from donated limbs. All of this is to point others to Christ, the source of my hope and strength. Please visit standingwithhope.com to learn more and participate in lifting others up. That's standingwithhope.com.

I'm Gracie, and I am standing with hope. As a caregiver, think about all the legal documents you need. Power of attorney, a will, living wills, and so many more. Then think about such things as disputes about medical bills. What if, instead of shelling out hefty fees for a few days of legal help, you paid a monthly membership and got a law firm for life?

Well, we're taking legal representation and making some revisions. In the form of accessible, affordable, full service coverage. Finally, you can live life knowing you have a lawyer in your back pocket who, at the same time, isn't emptying it. It's called Legal Shield, and it's practical, affordable, and a must for the family caregiver. Visit caregiverlegal.com. That's caregiverlegal.com. Isn't it about time someone started advocating for you? Visit caregiverlegal.com. www.caregiverlegal.com.

An independent associate. I'm alive, lift up my voice, above the chaos and the noise. The summer hope amidst the pain, I shout this song against the rain.

With joy, evermore. Welcome back to Hope for the Caregiver here on Sirius XM 131. I am Peter Rosenberger. This is the nation's number one show for you as a family caregiver. That is my wife, Gracie, singing. Rejoice, I'm alive, lift up my voice. Mom, you were almost, we're talking about my mother, Mary Rosenberger, and Gracie's with us.

And of course, himself, the Count of Mighty Disco, Jon Butler. And if you want to be a part of the show, 877-655-6755. Mom, there was a time in the not too distant past where, you know, you were teetering on the edge. And I think we all felt fairly concerned that you weren't going to make it. You had congestive heart failure and it was just, and in fact, actually, Grayson, our youngest son, went down to be with you guys and he called me up and he said, grandma is in really bad shape. And I think it had just been coming on and coming on and coming on and finally just reached that point where things had to be done and you had heart surgery and it was, you were pretty sick. But Grayson called the whistle.

I mean, he was supposed to be at a wedding with us. He said, you were not in good shape and you weren't, mom. How are you feeling now? I feel great. I feel very good.

Dad and I walk up and down the street in front of the house and see all the neighbors and wave to them and keep our six feet distance and I feel very good. I got back in the swimming pool after that and I can't go now because it's closed. But I don't have any, I have no, I have no pain. I have no discomfort. How's your breathing? Well, I'm breathing.

I don't notice the pain. Exactly. Peter, that was a stupid question. No, I just, you know, but she's walking, she's taking, mom, you've always taken pretty good care of yourself. Yeah.

And you eat well and so forth. Now, I'm going to give your age. I'm not supposed to do that. Oh, Peter. But I'm going to give your age.

This is a no-no. Well, it's in public records. I like Mary Rosenberger. She is a delight and exactly what we need in this world.

It's on public records. John, you would absolutely adore mom. Well, but she is, mom's 83.

No, wait a minute. Yeah, you're 83, mom. I'm 83. And by the way, Peter, this last time I had about four years before that, I had open heart surgery. So, yes, she's been through the wringer a couple times. But her doctor said, because I don't want mom, I don't want you to forget this, mom. I love the fact that, what, a year and a half ago, your doctor said, we've never been able to say this to a patient. You no longer have congestive heart failure. That's right.

That is a real miracle. They said it just went away. You know, yeah. I mean, you and I had some, you know, when I came down with Peter, we had some arguments every time you said, I'm ready to go, because you had your trach, so you would, you know, you would mouth it. Well, I wasn't ready to go, though. I didn't want to go.

Well, I was like, mom, I'm sorry, but we're not ready for you to go, and dad can hardly operate the microwave. So, this ain't happening right now. You can't operate the period. No, he can't, bless his heart. I had an experience in the hospital.

There's a flash on 12 right now. Well, yeah, dad is, of course, I've had dad on the show before. Dad has his doctorate degree. He was a captain of the Navy.

He's been minister for 60 years. Uber intelligent. Just, and I'm thinking, dad, why didn't you, at some point in this journey, learn anything about computers?

I didn't see the need. Or cooking on the microwave. Or, yeah, you know, I mean, you know, you can only live on pancakes for so long, dad, you're going to have to. So, we, but dad is, yes, he has come a long way as well. You know, you have, you have a pretty wicked sense of humor, and that's kept you fairly engaged. Well, you know, don't you?

Yeah, well, that's where I get it from. I didn't get it from dad. No, dad appreciates humor, but he does it, he does it foster humor. Yeah, he laughs. I saw his dad talking in the background.

Dad's jumping in. But you do, and you've kept a good sense of humor through all these painful things. How important is that to you? I don't know how anybody lives without it because, you know, there's a merry heart doeth well, okay?

Well, and your merry heart has done well. It's just that there's something to laugh about, and life is sort of funny, if you don't take it too seriously. It's wicked funny. It is funny, and there are things, there is a time to laugh and a time to cry. I mean, I will tell you, it's just, you know, we learned that at your mom's funeral, at my grandmother's funeral.

Yes, I know. That had been a painful time, but the whole family got together, and it became just this incredibly hilarious journey that your brother Jack, who was a long time writer, newspaper man for a long time, he was old school newspaper. John, you'd like this, he was, he's retired now, but he was so used to banging on his typewriter that when he went to a computer, he went through three keyboards. He just busted them up, he was that kind of typist when he did things, but he encapsulated the story of our grandmother's death, and it was an article in his paper that was just beautifully written, a time to laugh and a time to cry, and I remember I was in the key club in high school, and for whatever reason, we had a tour of the funeral home. They took us on a tour of the funeral, this is when I was in high school, and this is kind of like the high school step into the Kiwanis club kind of thing, but we went to the tour of the funeral home, we just had my grandmother's funeral, and the guy was showing us around in the casket room, and was just describing what goes on and so forth, and I looked over there, and I saw the same casket that my grandmother had just been buried in, and I thought, and I said really loud, I said, hey, my grandmother was buried in that casket just like that, and just as I said it, he was getting out of his mouth, and here is our cheapest model, and I thought, way to go mom!

I mean, well come on, it's gonna just kind of dust anyway. Way to go mom, here is our cheapest model, but anyway, listen, we got more to go with my mother Mary Rosenberger, and your calls as well, 877, and my wife Gracie, Mary Grace Rosenberger is gonna talk too, 877-655-6755, this is Peter Rosenberger, this is Hope for the Caregiver, we'll be right back. Hey this is Larry the Cable Guy, and you are listening to Hope for the Caregiver with Peter Rosenberger, and if you're not listening to it, you're a communist, get it on.

He'll give you hope for tomorrow, joy for your sorrow, strength for everything you go through, remember he knows, he knows the plans he has for you, oh yes he does, he knows. Welcome back to Hope for the Caregiver, here on America's number one show for you as a family caregiver, this is Peter Rosenberger, and I'm glad to have you with us, Gracie's laughing at me, I'm trying to do too many things in a multitasking way, I was trying to do this on Facebook, to stream it live on Facebook like we normally do, but now Facebook is saying the browser you're using doesn't support the camera feature, John you wanna give me any input on that? I am going to blame Mark Zuckerberg. I am too, because it was working two weeks ago, they went off and they changed the whole platform for the live video on Facebook, and I'm thinking why do they do this?

Well you can update stuff. I can, but I can't do it right now, and I'm thinking you rascals, but anyway, if you want to be a part of the show, 877-655-6755, 877-655-6755, and we're glad to have you with us. I've got my wife Gracie's with us, John Butler is always with us, and my mother Mary is here for this special Mother's Day event here, where I have Mary Rosenberger, and then my wife Mary Grace Rosenberger, which is a little... Well her name's Mary Emma, you've all...

Yes, Mother's Mary Emma, Gracie I need you to pull that a little bit, you pulled it away from me. Okay, I thought you were saying it was too loud. No, no, there you go, right there. Okay.

John was not loud enough. Okay. No, John's never... Let's see, I've got Gracie here with me, we're in Montana, John's in Nashville, Ed is producing the show in Dallas, and Mom is in South Carolina.

This is quite an event here. Alright, so Mom, you still with me? You didn't nod off or anything, did you? Well, I didn't know whether I was supposed to go or come, so I didn't say. No, Ed, you just jump in, Mom, you just jump in. I mean, you know. You have a large family, Mother.

With my age, I don't jump. No, that's true. You have a large family.

Yeah. And how has that been for you? With six children, and you've got now five daughters-in-law, one son-in-law, 17 grandchildren, and this year you will have 18, 19, and number 20 great-grandchild, one of which is ours, John. We will be having another grandchild. Well, it's not mine, it's y'all's and Gracie's. Yes, it's not yours, John. We've been meaning to tell you, John. But our oldest son, Parker, is going to have their third child, and it's a little girl, from what we understand. I think we're allowed to say that on the air.

I guess so, and if we're not, you're the one that's going to get in trouble. I'll edit that out. But that'll be in September, so you're going to have 18, 19, and 20 for this year. Great-grandchildren. If I had to quiz you, could you name them all?

Oh, please, definitely she could. I could, because I pray for every single one of them every single morning, by name. All grandchildren and great-grandchildren and everything else? Yeah, there's 54 people in my family, including me. So you're praying for three hours a day, Mom?

Pretty much. Well, I get up real early, you know. Peter, she gets up at like 4.30 in the morning. And you know, you are a praying mom, and the Lord loves a praying mom. And you've prayed over each of us, and you've watched us walk through some painful things. What are some lessons to new moms that you would like to offer? I mean, you've got some real stripes up your arm, as the military would say. I mean, you're a veteran of dealing with a lot of parental issues.

And a lot of it just involved me. But what are some insights you would love to offer to new moms today? Well, Peter, you know, it would have been good if I had a prepared speech to say that. So I'm going to have to... We don't script the show, Mom. Mom, we don't script the show. I think you know that by now.

Our audience clearly knows that. But I'm not used to doing this either. But one of the things that comes so strongly is it's important to get our faith worked out.

I did not have mine worked out to begin with. I was still struggling. It is important to know what the Word says. It is important to know God and have a personal relationship. I have found that over the years that sometimes all I had to do is get back into that intimacy with God.

And He would let me know what to do in a situation. And those times when I wanted to worry or fret or get upset, if I'm back with Him and I get back in the Scriptures, I find there's no need to. I'm amazed at the Scriptures that I don't have to be afraid, I don't have to worry, I don't have to fret. Those are things I get to choose to do. So if I don't have to do this, then what's the alternative? And I have to seek a relationship with God, I have to seek the Scriptures. And then I find that this is the most exciting adventure in the world.

And so I don't know that you can make it without it, not today. I don't know that you can raise a child without knowing what the Word says about helping a child get through the difficult times in life. And I have to admit, knowing the Scriptures has probably been the greatest asset. And I think one of my patron saints was Susanna Wesley. Tell us who Susanna Wesley is. She's the mother of John Wesley, the great Methodist evangelist. And he also had a brother, too. Charles Wesley wrote a lot of songs. Her secret was, somebody came and criticized her one time because she was making her children memorize Scripture at a very early age.

They were under two. And she said, I don't teach them to understand it, I teach them to learn it. God will give them the understanding. And I like to think that maybe that's what I've encouraged, not just you and your brothers and sisters, but maybe some other people also, that God gives the understanding. All we have to do is present the Word, get into the Word.

He'll give the understanding. He says, I am the Lord thy God in the midst of me. And you and I talked about that the other day, Peter, that's in Zephaniah. But in the midst of where I'm at, no matter what it is or what's going on in my life, in the midst, He's mighty. And that's a tremendous source of encouragement.

And so to those who are struggling or alone or frustrated or sick or don't know what to do or whatever, in the midst of that, He's mighty. Well said. Gracie. Period.

Period. Mic drop. Mic drop.

Boom. Gracie, when you were in the hospital with my mother and the roles were reversed and she was truly at death's door. I mean, it was very, very bleak. And you were in there and what was going through your mind as you saw the role reversal? Because she had leaned over your hospital bed, praying for you, singing to you, kissing on you and holding you and everything else.

Well, like she said. And then the roles were reversed and you were in that position. What was going through that with you? Well, first of all, I just could not wait to get over there because I just I felt such a an urgency in my heart to get over there and speak to her spirit. You know, because I've been unconscious and, you know, she was in and out of unconsciousness and but you can still hear the hearing is the is the last thing to go.

So and and, you know, they would take her down for procedures and she wouldn't want you or I to leave the room. But you would feel like, you know, on some things that you have to honor your mom that you need to leave the room. But I didn't leave the room. I felt like I wanted to be there every second that I could be there. And because she was there not just for me, but our two our two boys. And I just remember going over and I and when you would leave the room. I don't know why you kind of spastic when you're in the room theater, but when you would leave the room, I would get right over her in bed, you know, and hold on to the side rails.

And I would look at her and and and I would say, Mom. This is not your time to go. I'm sorry, I know you want to clearly because you kept saying. Now I'm ready to go. I'm ready to go. And I said, I know you're ready to go.

But you know what? I don't think God's ready for you to go. And I know that your children and your daughter in law and your son in law and your grandchildren, your great grandchildren are not ready for you to go. And I really found out that dad really didn't want you to go.

I mean, there was just it was I felt so horrible for dad. I mean, he would just sit out in the waiting room with his Bible and he would just pray and meditate on the word. And but I wanted to say one thing, because I remember I specifically took that red Bible that had Mary Rosenberger inscribed on it that you had given Peter nine.

John, you'll appreciate this. Everything she read, but especially through Job and all of all of those things while she was going through that with her younger brother Lee. She would write the dates in the in in the in the margin, and she would and she would write questions that she had or discoveries she felt that. The Lord had given her, but she would write the dates. And several times. In Job, in particular.

I would see the same dates in the margin. When I had my wreck and was in the hospital unconscious and that anyway, that meant the world to me. So I read those things to you. That was really important that mom had written those poignant notes in her Bible. It was at the very time she was dealing with her brother.

But at that very time, you had your wreck back in 83. And so that was it was really quite poignant, because at the time she was and she was praying the same verses for her brother that she would later pray for you. And it was just it was really quite meaningful.

You were gasping for breath, mom. And before we go to break, I just want Gracie sing one verse of this. You asked Gracie to sing this hymn.

And she sang it just acapella the thing. And I asked her to sing this for you today for Mother's Day. Is that all right?

I mean, you don't have really any choice. You still with us, mom? I'm still with you. Mom, Peter gave me no heads up. But I thought I'd have her sing this. What were you going to say, mom?

Well, just one other thing. And it might have been while Gracie was in there. You know, there were months of I didn't know what was going on. But there was a time when things seemed real bad and everything hurt real bad. But I heard God speak to me and this might have been Gracie's prayer. And he said to me, do you want to come home with me? And I thought, well, that doesn't sound like a bad idea because I sure don't feel very good.

And of course, I mean, nobody knows what's going on. And that's what I said. But then the Lord said, or do you want to live? And out of my mouth so quickly that I could hardly fathom how quickly it came out and said I want to live and I want to declare your works. And, you know, I have opportunities to do that regularly. Well, you do. And you do see one verse, Gracie.

Just one verse. Well, no, we got to go to a break. We'll do it. Well, we're going to go to a break because we've got to take a quick break.

So we'll do that when we come back to the break. We're talking to my mother, Mary Rosenberger. And this is hope for the caregiver. If I offer good things on this show, it's because she helped me learn it. And so I want to bring her on just for the special Mother's Day show and also Gracie joining us with us.

She's been a huge influence in Gracie's life as Gracie's wrestled with these things, too. This is the show for you as a family caregiver. 877-655-6755. 877-655-6755. This is Peter Rosenberger. We'll be right back. Welcome back to Hope for the Caregiver here on the Family Talk channel.

Series XM 131. This is Peter Rosenberger. This is the nation's number one show for you as a family caregiver. We're glad you're with us.

877-655-6755. Before we get back to my mother who is on the phone with us, I also want to let you know about what we're doing here with the next work we're doing in Africa. We've been working over there.

You've heard Gracie's story many times through this show. And we were hoping to have a trip there this summer, but with the virus, it has put that on hold for a little while longer. But we are still sending supplies over. And part of that is prosthetic limbs that can be recycled. And we really could use your help with that.

We've got in some in the last couple of weeks, but we need to get the word out for more. And so if you could go out to standingwithhope.com slash recycle, standingwithhope.com slash recycle. And you could see where you could send in a prosthetic limb that someone no longer needs.

They've passed away or they've outgrown. They don't need that. But we can recycle the pile on the foot, the knee, the belt systems, the connectors, the adapters, the screws, all those things. And it goes to a prison in Tennessee where inmates volunteer to disassemble them for us. It's part of a faith based program that CoreCivic helps us run. CoreCivic manages prisons all over the country. And they have a lot of different faith based programs to help these inmates kind of get back on a better path from where they were. And this has been one of the more successful ones.

And it's been going on now for nine years. And we've done just hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of prosthetic limbs that we've been able to repurpose these parts for. We'll ship it over to West Africa. And then in a partnership we have with the Republic of Ghana, we use those to build a brand new custom fit leg that we won't recycle the socket. That is custom fit to each amputee. But we will make a brand new socket over there, but use these different parts that these inmates are helping us in these CoreCivic programs. So please take advantage of that.

All right. We're back here with my mother, Mary Rosenberger, who has an extraordinary journey as a not only as a mother, but as a as a caregiving mom. She has cared for a lot of different family members over the years and has cared for me as I have assumed a role of caregiver. And there have been times when my knees have buckled and I've not done very well. And there have been times when she's looked at me with a measure of pride. And there's been times when she looked at me with one eyebrow raised and thinking, what in the world are you thinking, young man? We've all had those moments with our mother.

But I think for me, Mom, the one of the more poignant memories I have of you being involved in my life and what Gracie and I have gone through is when Gracie gave up her right leg way back in 1991. And I know you remember it well. You stayed up all night with her singing, as you mentioned earlier in the show. And I know you were tired. You were exhausted. And and and as as I went to the as far as I could go with her and then they took the gurney, went into the room and we were just kids. I mean, we were in our 20s. And I went back to the room and there was you and dad and Gracie's dad was with us.

Gracie's mom had her had Parker or a young our oldest son with her down in Florida. And I just I just kind of you just looked at me and that's when I just lost it. And I just I just sobbed and you just came over. I sit in a recliner and you just came over and you just held me.

And it's hard to hold people who are groaning. And yet you've done this for a lifetime for so many people, more more lifetimes, really, because you've just you've invested in people who are groaning and you've held us. You've held all of us at different points, all four of my brothers and my sister and our wives and our and Liz's husband, your grandchildren you've held. And it's it's you have imparted a great deal of care to a lot of people. And I put myself at the front of the line because you seem to have given me an extraordinary amount of disproportionate care. And I thank you for it because I don't feel like I felt like I took you away from a lot of things. But but you you seem to have just an amazing reserve of love. And maybe maybe that's why your heart needed some working on, because you just keep emptying it so much.

So I'm glad you got it taped back up, mom. And so you can be around a little longer here with us. Before I finish up with this show and let Gracie sing this one verse, is there anything else you'd like to offer?

I mean, there are people, like you said, there are people out there right now. They're very unsettled. They're scared and they're hurting. And you have never shied away from going into people's pain.

What would you like to offer? I don't know that there's anything except pushing back into Jesus. I don't know that there's anything else out there. And that's the most real thing in the world is just pushing back into him. He has said, you know, he said, you don't have to be afraid.

You're not alone. You don't have to worry. And the reason why is because he's with us. If there's any comfort I've given, it's because I've given the comfort he's given me.

That's what Paul says in Corinthians. Gracie, we got 30 seconds to sing one verse. Breathe on me, breath of God.

Fill me with life anew. That I may love what Thou dost love and do what Thou would do. That's your anthem, isn't it, Mom? That I would love what Thou dost love and do what Thou dost do. That's your anthem.

Don't get any better than that. Thank you, Peter. Thank you, Gracie. Thank you, honey.

Love you. Well, Mom, we love you much. And thank you for taking the time on the show. We're a little bit goofy on the show, but thank you for swinging. Well, you made me, so it's your fault. There's a small amount of responsibility.

There's not a small amount of responsibility. We're going to put this out on the podcast. You can see this at HopeForTheCaregiver.com. And thank you for being a part of the show. Happy Mother's Day to all our moms out there. Mom, thank you very much. This is Peter Roseburger, Hope For The Caregiver. HopeForTheCaregiver.com. We'll see you next week. Happy Mother's Day.