She had always been the center of her family. Many people she loved and recognized each in a a special and specific way. She was a “tough cookie” I heard others say yet soft and caring. Witty and “no nonsense” approach telling it as it is but the brief moments I got to spend with her it was never judgmental, never out of spite and not harshly. She spread a sense of feeling secure. The type of grandma you’d run to when you needed somewhere to be safe and loved.
Those closest to her will tell you about the countless times the whole family with all the cousins would gather Sundays after church. Spending the whole afternoon at grandmas house, eating, talking and playing. Grabbing vegetables fresh out of the large garden and hearing her call you out from the window if you got after her chickens.
The way her children pulled together to assist and stay with her the last years of her life is a testimony to the way she cared and loved others. At her final moments we caught a glimpse through Skype of all the trucks parked outside her home. People wanting to hold her and be that security the way she always was.
The seriousness of her focus towards Christ. That none shall walk without hearing the great news of Gods love and plans for each and everyone.
We grieve our loss, carrying our wish to feel her warmth, hear her voice and see her welcoming smile just one more time. We rejoice in her relief from sickness and all that held her back from the joy and transformation she now has reached.
Shannon L. Adler once wrote:
“Carve your name on hearts, not tombstones. A legacy is etched into the minds of others and the stories they share about you.”
She did just that. Her name is carved in our hearts and her stories in our minds and memory. Thankful that her being in our lives made us better. She, the beginning and source of many.
swedenusa 