"Face to face with Christ my Savior, 
Face to face--what will it be--
When with rapture I behold Him,
Jesus Christ who died for me?"

My mom now knows what it is, as with rapture she beholds Jesus who died for her. If in this world, we find that face to face is infinitely better than phone, Skype, or message, how much more in our relationship with the divine. My mom was raptured by a sunset, a flower, a new grand-or great-grand baby. I trust that now she also has the capacity for rapture on this level (see C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory). 

She entered his presence Wed Jan 16 at 1:20 a.m.--peacefully, having lived life to the full, drinking it to the last drop her body could muster. She was the matriarch of an immediate family of 121: 5 now with Jesus, 8 living children, 29 grand children, and 52 great-grand children, plus spouses. And she loved and accepted every one of them in all their diversity. 

Of course, as part of this, we will no longer be able to see my mom face to face, or call her on the phone, or fly out for a visit. We are just beginning to get our minds and hearts round all that we will miss.