God has been faithful and Aunt Mary is dancing on the streets of gold, guest blogger Adrienne Ross

Aunt Mary--my aunt who helped raised me--passed away 2 years ago. In fact, it was 2 years ago last Sunday. When she went into cardiac arrest a year before that and ended up on life support, doctors tried to get us to take her off life support rather than do a tracheotomy. We opted to do the trache surgery, which then meant she had to live in a nursing home--unable to talk, eat, or even move on her own. It also meant that because she had assets--2 houses in her name--and because the nursing home, doctors, etc., would have to be paid, we would be forced legally to sell at least one house, as insurance won't pay until you exhaust all assets. (Those of you with elderly parents might want to keep this in mind. Get stuff out of their names or they'll take it.)

This was the house where I grew up. Not only had we lost the aunt we knew, but we lost our inheritance, but she was worth it. It was difficult all around, and for a year, I traveled the 3 hours one way down to Long Island each Saturday and returned Sunday, sitting by Aunt Mary's side and giving ‪‎my Aunt Alma‬ a break from spending every day--practically all day--there.

After Aunt Mary passed away, there was even more pressure to sell the house. It had to be sold, and the longer it took, the more stress Aunt Alma had. Dealing with lawyers and realtors and the nursing home people and doctors was hard enough after losing her sister, but then there was the cost of heating the house--which was very expensive, along with other costs. Every time it seemed we had a buyer and a contract, it all fell through--time after time. It was a few years of struggle and stress, and then the thought that they would try to make us sell the other house, too--the one Aunt Alma lives in--was added stress. It's not easy to sell a house in the county that has the highest property taxes in the nation! We just kept praying in the midst of the frustration and, admittedly, nervousness.

Now the good news: Finally...I said, FINALLY...we have sold the house! Aunt Alma closed on it and handed the keys over yesterday! Praise GOD! What a journey! And though we have lost so much in the process, we are so glad God has, once again, shown Himself to be faithful, and we have no regrets for making the decisions we did. In that time that Aunt Mary lived after her trache surgery, we saw her begin to move her body, reach for items, squeeze our hands, and attempt to speak. We saw God at work--and we're so glad we chose life. Aunt Mary is now dancing on the streets of gold, and it's all good. As for us, we're moving on!

Ms. Ross is a former high school teacher of English and now owns Adrienne Ross Communications and is a motivational speaker and writer.