Grandma went to heaven last Sunday...it was her time. It felt like it took a very long time for Jesus to come and get her. The past 4 weeks were LONG. She was ready to go and said "one more day" 26 days before she was taken. But God's timing is always best and I would like to think that there was someone, somewhere, that needed to be touched by my grandma. I sometimes wonder who that was, or why it was but it really doesn't matter. That's just the nosy side of me, and another question to add to my list for Jesus when I meet him. Yet I wonder, when I meet Jesus will I really be thinking of my "list" of questions? I kind of don't think so.
My Grandma was a rare woman, one who loved unconditionally all the time. For always and forever, no matter what. She loved us all. She loved my Aunt when she was pregnant at a young age and chose adoption for her daughter, she loved her children through alcoholic relationships, divorces, miscarriages..she loved her grandchildren through unplanned pregnancies, transgender changes, alcoholism, young widows, divorce...she just loved. It is what she did, it is what she knew. She knew to love like Jesus. She set the bar high in how we love like Jesus...we just LOVE. Simple and plain. We love.
She cheered us all on in whatever we loved. She ALWAYS wanted to hear the details. Wanted the recipe, wanted a picture, wanted the full story. She listened and she cared. EVERY single time. EVERY time I called her, she was thrilled and wanted to hear all the details of the boys' lives. Even on our very last visit to her she wanted to hear if Tommy's homecoming date was a girlfriend, if Drew wanted to go on more mission trips, listened to sweet Max sing her Jesus loves me, watched Max intently as he ate his ice cream cone. She cared until the very end. Never about her, always about others.
I miss her already. I miss the idea of her. I miss being able to say I have a Grandma. I know 42 years of having a Grandma is rare, and I don't take that for granted. I know that our boys are blessed to have had a GREAT-GRANDMA who KNEW them, I mean really KNEW them. She knew what each one loved, she enjoyed this blog. She loved the details of their lives.
We celebrated her life on Wednesday in Benson, it was perfect. It was a beautiful fall day, the sun was shining, it was crisp. The flowers at the church were amazing, there were photos everywhere, there were letters from Grandchildren posted. Every grandchild of hers was there....nearly EVERY great grandchild was there. (She had 19 great grandchildren, and another 16 great-grandchildren through marriages not blood so 35 total...30 were there) Hymns were sung, letters read, sharing about her life. It was perfect for her. The church was FULL to the very last pew. That is RARE for someone who is 93, typically most all of their friends have passed away and the services are small...nope NOT for my grandma...she touched SO many lives of SO many ages she packed a full house. What a tribute to this woman I had the privilege to call Grandma.
As the family met at the cemetery, under a huge beautiful tree to bury her ashes next to a Grandpa I never knew I couldn't help but feel peace. Such peace when you love Jesus and know heaven is for real. Max and Alice kneeled by her urn. Imitating what the pastor did, making a cross in her ashes. Touching her flowers, talking quietly to each other. I can tell you that would make Grandma BEAM from ear to ear. Little ones were so precious to her, legacy mattered to her.
From there we headed back to her house, most all of the family, to change clothes and say our long Minnesota goodbyes. The last time to gather at her house, there was a BIG missing piece there, no Grandma. But the house still felt so cozy. When we drove away I could see her waving from the porch. She loved having family there, she always waved goodbye. She will be forever in our hearts and one day we will see her again. As we said our goodbyes to her at the nursing home, after all of the "Thank you's" and "Love you so much" one of the boys said "We will see you in heaven" and she pointed at each one of them and said "I better".
Some photos from our last visit to see her, they were too hard to share earlier, but now I want them documented. They are hard to look at in some ways, seeing the sadness in our boys' faces, yet the amazing gift of being able to say goodbye and thank you to your great grandma. And to have that assurance that one day, you will meet again. Precious
My Grandma was a rare woman, one who loved unconditionally all the time. For always and forever, no matter what. She loved us all. She loved my Aunt when she was pregnant at a young age and chose adoption for her daughter, she loved her children through alcoholic relationships, divorces, miscarriages..she loved her grandchildren through unplanned pregnancies, transgender changes, alcoholism, young widows, divorce...she just loved. It is what she did, it is what she knew. She knew to love like Jesus. She set the bar high in how we love like Jesus...we just LOVE. Simple and plain. We love.
She cheered us all on in whatever we loved. She ALWAYS wanted to hear the details. Wanted the recipe, wanted a picture, wanted the full story. She listened and she cared. EVERY single time. EVERY time I called her, she was thrilled and wanted to hear all the details of the boys' lives. Even on our very last visit to her she wanted to hear if Tommy's homecoming date was a girlfriend, if Drew wanted to go on more mission trips, listened to sweet Max sing her Jesus loves me, watched Max intently as he ate his ice cream cone. She cared until the very end. Never about her, always about others.
I miss her already. I miss the idea of her. I miss being able to say I have a Grandma. I know 42 years of having a Grandma is rare, and I don't take that for granted. I know that our boys are blessed to have had a GREAT-GRANDMA who KNEW them, I mean really KNEW them. She knew what each one loved, she enjoyed this blog. She loved the details of their lives.
We celebrated her life on Wednesday in Benson, it was perfect. It was a beautiful fall day, the sun was shining, it was crisp. The flowers at the church were amazing, there were photos everywhere, there were letters from Grandchildren posted. Every grandchild of hers was there....nearly EVERY great grandchild was there. (She had 19 great grandchildren, and another 16 great-grandchildren through marriages not blood so 35 total...30 were there) Hymns were sung, letters read, sharing about her life. It was perfect for her. The church was FULL to the very last pew. That is RARE for someone who is 93, typically most all of their friends have passed away and the services are small...nope NOT for my grandma...she touched SO many lives of SO many ages she packed a full house. What a tribute to this woman I had the privilege to call Grandma.
As the family met at the cemetery, under a huge beautiful tree to bury her ashes next to a Grandpa I never knew I couldn't help but feel peace. Such peace when you love Jesus and know heaven is for real. Max and Alice kneeled by her urn. Imitating what the pastor did, making a cross in her ashes. Touching her flowers, talking quietly to each other. I can tell you that would make Grandma BEAM from ear to ear. Little ones were so precious to her, legacy mattered to her.
From there we headed back to her house, most all of the family, to change clothes and say our long Minnesota goodbyes. The last time to gather at her house, there was a BIG missing piece there, no Grandma. But the house still felt so cozy. When we drove away I could see her waving from the porch. She loved having family there, she always waved goodbye. She will be forever in our hearts and one day we will see her again. As we said our goodbyes to her at the nursing home, after all of the "Thank you's" and "Love you so much" one of the boys said "We will see you in heaven" and she pointed at each one of them and said "I better".
Some photos from our last visit to see her, they were too hard to share earlier, but now I want them documented. They are hard to look at in some ways, seeing the sadness in our boys' faces, yet the amazing gift of being able to say goodbye and thank you to your great grandma. And to have that assurance that one day, you will meet again. Precious
Listening to Max sing "Jesus loves Me"
Max, Grandma and me
watching Max eat ice cream, loving it
showing us one of her old bibles...
consoling Tommy
Max even understood....
Tough stuff...but yet beauty in watching Grandma consoling these boys of mine
My Mom's precious last moments with Grandma and her sisters...
And a few sent to me from the Cemetery of sweet Max and Alice...
Oh Susan. This is beautiful. What an amazing legacy. What an amazing woman and love.
ReplyDeleteWow. Tears. Such precious moments.
ReplyDelete