Grandmas Are Special

Grandmas are special.  Both of mine were no exception.  I was blessed to live nearby one of my Grandmas for the first 19 years of my life.  The other Grandma, Grandma Bea, lived further away in Michigan.  I saw her sometimes only once a year on a summer vacation or in one of her visits to stay with us.  But as an adult, there have been more years in between visits than I would have really liked.  Early this year, Grandma Bea was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.  She chose not to go through chemo and we made peace with her choice.  For many months, she seemed to be doing well.  The nursing home where she lived went on lockdown like all others.  Grandma has 8 children and many grandchildren and many great grandchildren.  Putting her on lockdown so that visitors could only really see her through the window was…hard.  And when my Aunt visited her, as she did very frequently, she could see through that window that Gram was not looking quite right.  It was painful for all of us to sit here and see Gram at the beginning of the end – but only looking through the window.  The thought of her passing away without her people by her side was too much.  But my amazing Aunt and Uncle quickly set up a beautiful room in their home and took her to their house.  They are both nurses – both so capable and ready and willing to care for her.  Precautions were still taken.  Masks were still required.  Gloves were still worn.  Social distancing was in place between family groups.  But Gram had a place to be where we could reach her with last hugs, cards, gifts, video text messages, and her birthday celebration on Sunday.  This morning, Gram went to be with Jesus. 

Grandmas are special.  I won’t try to tell you mine is any more special than yours but let me share what made mine so special to me.  I don’t think there was a person alive who knew Gram that didn’t genuinely love her.  She loved to laugh and would laugh loud.  She was a caretaker who would do just about anything she could to help others.  She gave people a place – a place where they were accepted and loved and seen no matter what they were going through.  She was not the most talkative person in the room, but she was a listener.  Somehow, she held her family together so tightly after losing her husband to colon cancer several decades ago.  There was a beauty about her that went beyond the exterior.  And when you saw her you knew you were in the presence of someone unspeakably wonderful.  She made you feel special.  Gram was so many things – but most of all she was a woman who held tightly to the promises of Jesus.  And that was the lasting gift she gave to all of us.  She gave us Jesus.  I have no doubt that this morning she woke up in the presence of her Savior, that Papa was there to greet her with a wide grin, and that she laughed and clapped her hands in that way she does.  I can just see her face.  And one day I will again.