A Time to Laugh, A Time To Cry... a time to remember

Almost five years ago, I did one of the most difficult thing I could ever imagine doing (something equally as difficult would come later, but that's another post for another day... perhaps.)  I spoke at my Grandmom's funeral.

See, Grandmom was the most amazing lady on the planet.  Of course, everyone thinks this about their grandmom, nana, mimi... whatever.... But they are wrong.  Only mine gets this status.  No, she wasn't perfect... but she was pretty darn close.

She lost her mama at an early age, and was raised by her black Nanny, whom she loved just as if she were flesh and blood.  The youngest of the family, she was the last one at home- and once told me that she was so grateful for this time with her daddy.  Perhaps that is where she learned her unremarkable, yet most honorable skill of service to others.

To say she had a hard life was an understatement...  growing up without many comforts, caring for older family members, marrying a 'difficult' man (again, another post for another day :), spending each and every moment in pure joy and service and happiness and love.

Never once did I hear her complain.  Need a load of laundry done?  Julia was there.  Hungry?  Happily sharing her meager groceries.  Do your little ones need new shoes?  Julia will take care of you.  Dying?  A comforting presence to come sit and care for you.

Her faith was unshakable.  Her most remarkable quality was the fact that she just loved.  Loved others.  Loved everyone.  Loved unconditionally.  Loved as Christ loved.

Her theology was shallow... she couldn't talk to you about hermaneutics, eschatology, end times... or why bad things happen to good people.  She just knew she loved her Lord Jesus Christ... and for Him, that was enough. 

Had she been a person from the Bible, she would have been the woman washing Christ's feet with her perfume and hair, the woman giving her 'widow's mite' and sheltering the orphans.  What I've learned from her, cemented over and over in my life:  it's not how much Scripture you know, it's what you do with it that counts.  Some might argue this with me... of course we should all seek to know His word more each day- but a tiny bit of Truth used wholly is so much more than a heaping portion of Truth thrown in the trash.

There are times when I struggle with memories of her... not wanting to remember or think about it because it hurts so deeply to realize how much I miss her.  I grieve over the fact that of all the people in the whole wide world, she would have rejoiced over the little things:  she would have loved hearing my girls sing their first duet in church, getting to know her Guatemalan born grandson, watching my 5 year old bounce off the walls... rejoicing in my eldest's academic accomplishments.  Crayon colored pictures on the fridge would have made her glow... and I miss the opportunity to share that with her.

Which brings me to sharing this... the words I spoke at her service that cold January day.  Not sure why this is on my heart today, but I'm seizing the moment and sharing it. 

To Grandmom, with love.....

I was trying to think of how to put into words exactly what Grandmom meant to each of us. One look around the room and it is clear that she was a precious soul to all of us in so many ways.

To Levi, Emma, Caroline, Christian, Aidan, Julianna, Sam, Lucy and Molly, she was Mom Mom. To Chuck, Tonia and myself she was Grandmom. To her daughters, Mother. But really she was everyone’s Mom Mom, Grandmom and Mother. She was servant and sister, mentor and wife and friend. She spent a lifetime serving and caring for others. It was what she loved, it was her passion. She knew Christ’s example was a humble one, and she gladly filled the role.

She was the first to visit you in the hospital, the last to leave your side when you were sick. She was there with a meal when you were hungry, and always ready with an open door when you needed a home. She never met a stranger, called the rich and poor equally her friend, and was always ready with a kind word.

I don’t think any of us would have imagined her last few years would be spent in the manner that they were, but the Lord knew. It was her time to be served, fed and clothed. Though she would have never chosen this as her final chapter of her life, she taught us even in sickness how to remain grateful, hopeful and graceful.

I have no doubts where Grandmom is at this moment. Again serving- at the feet of the One most precious to her, only this time her service is her reward.