Monday, November 17, 2008

Sometimes you just need more...

Have you ever woke up to the buzz of your alarm clock, pushed snooze and had the distinct sense that today, more than most days, you would need to feel the closeness of your Savior. I had such a day. I woke this morning with just that feeling. I laid in bed and talked with Jesus. I praise God that the Holy Spirit had prompted me to take some extra moments with him. The day seemed average enough. Jenna who had gotten the stomach flu the day before awoke feeling well and she continued feel good for the rest of the day, thankfully. Then the phone rang about 8:45 a.m. I was late getting school started and was reluctant to answer, but it was my mom. You always answer the phone when it is mom. However, the voice I heard was hardly recognizable. My mother was sobbing. I managed to make out that it was her and that my grandmother, her mother, had died suddenly in the night. Whew. That was tough to hear. We had thought Grandma was doing well. Instead, she is now doing amazingly well, dancing with Jesus. Her health had been challenging in the last several years due to aging. No chronic illnesses, just aging. She was on pain medication for leg pain, but that was all. She was not very mobile and needed assistance to manage her walker. During the last week of her life she was doing so well her pain medications had been reduced, she got a perm, went to church (which she had not attended in over a year) and had lunch with her sister-in-law. Praise God. I had seen her this summer and she told me then that it was our last visit. My mom had seen her a month ago, Grandma told my dad that she knew it was her last visit with my mom. God's timing is good.

The challenge of the day was the waves of grief, holding your mother as she sobs, crying that she was not ready for her mother to die and realizing the raw emotions that death can bring. I needed that extra time with Jesus. He carried me today. Thank you Jesus.

I will be leaving Thursday for the funeral with my sister and her husband. Please pray for all that comes with my grandma's death.

I am so glad that my Grandma always prayed for me. She always shared Jesus with me. I knew that she loved Jesus. Grandma was wonderful, loving and a blessing. I now have no living grandparents. She was always the closest to me. I am sad for me, my sister and my mom. I rejoice for Grandma to be free of the pains of this life and to now be in eternity. God is good. All the time!