Today my strong and faithful Grandma left this earth and stepped into glory. She was surrounded by family who sang her home to heaven. While death is never beautiful, there is something profoundly beautiful in the way her children cared for her. It was incredibly touching to witness everyone honor her so tenderly. What a legacy she leaves behind!
As I spent time today relishing in all that my Grandma is now experiencing, a thought occurred to me. As a mother I have a natural instinct to care for and be concerned about each one of my kids. As a bereaved mother I often feel lost not knowing what Josiah is doing. And it hit me, for one moment in time I know what Josiah is doing tonight. While I am mourning, he is welcoming his Great- Grandma home.
For just a moment this evening, heaven doesn’t feel so far away.
double rainbow over our house last night
♥
Grandma,
Some of the most precious memories I have with you are the times we would lay in bed and you would share stories from your childhood. As we watched your journey come to an end, I spent time with my kids reminiscing and sharing my childhood memories of you. Some of my favorites are:
- You were always willing to fry any fish we caught in your pond, no matter how small.
- You maintained what would be a prize winning asparagus garden to everyone but us kids who would sneak out to stomp them down because we loved the sound of the crunch they made, better than we liked the taste.
- One summer we visited you on the farm soon after the movie Twister came out. That night a tornado went right over the property and we were scared out of our minds hiding out in the cellar. You slept with us the rest of the night telling us of the all the tornado experiences you had growing up.
- You worked hard as a farmer’s wife and mom of 9 but made every chore fun. Some of our best times were washing dishes and playing I spy games out the window while we worked.
- You loved to jump rope, play games, and would tell countless stories from your childhood. You didn’t have many toys at your house but we would play with Paper dolls, the doll named Adam, and flip through JCPenny catalogs from the early 60’s. Of course we had the whole farm- the garden, the animals, and the pond to enjoy.
- Listening to Uncle Charlie and Keys for Kids on the radio as you made concord grape juice before church.
- Because of your Mennonite faith, you didn’t watch or own a tv. Jonathan and I would sneak into a back bedroom to watch Dr Quinn Medicine Woman on a 3 inch Sega screen with an antennae.
- The time you sent me a single piece of gum and three stickers for Christmas
- The sound of your chuckle
- As a little girl you told me I would be a writer someday and asked me countless times what book I would want to write. You would introduce me as “my granddaughter the writer” to friends and share stories I had written. I would shake my head and tell you I didn’t like to write. In one of our last conversations you told me I was a God-gifted writer and thanked me for sharing my story of loosing Josiah because it allowed you to grieve the loss of a baby boy (whom you named Timothy) in a way you didn’t know how to before.
- The night I called you and Grandpa to tell you I had asked Jesus into my heart and you were so excited for me. Little did I know how important that night would become for me tonight.
As the sun sets on earth for us this evening, we are thinking of you. Enjoy heaven for us Grandma, we’ll see you soon.
To eternity and back,
Jenny