My Family, Jim, Church Family, My Friends who have become Family
On January 1, after a gentle decline, my grandmother passed away. Some of my earliest memories of her, aside from her wonderful heartfelt cooking, are her always telling me to "Pray to the Lord" and "Thank God for Every Day". In living a Good life, she was a good example of a Godly woman who planted and nurtured the seeds of my Faith. As her health declined in the past year, The word of God testified that he was with her, The people of God echoed this and were a source of comfort and strength for me and my Family, My Church Family and Family of Friends were examples of this as you offered comfort, healing, and words of Wisdom.
You also helped me keep my heart pointed to God and not to the despair that this situation could bring. Your obedience to the Holy Spirit helped bring me to a place where I realized I need to give my whole heart to God, like my Lola had.
You have all helped reminded me that God was with her. Every time we lifted her up to Prayer, God was saying "I know her. She always believed and testified about my Son. My Holy Spirit has always dwelt with her and worked through her. Her place by me is made. ... and I want her to cook her Chicken Adobo and fried sweet potatoes."
The T-shirt "The thing about me, is that it's all about me" still comes to mind. Because I find myself and see my family occasionally drift to the "I never got the hang of her Chicken Adobo", "I didn't visit enough when she was alive", "I never heard her tell how she and my Grandfather met". But stepping back, and remembering this time is not about me, I see not only the impact my Lola had in my life. But I also see how even through such little acts as a few words over sweet potatoes to a young boy, God was constantly at work through her. Her life, her work, is a part of a Tapestry that boggles my mind as I try to contemplate it. A complex web that I'm glad that The Big Guy is in charge of, for he is a Good God.
As Kenny and Jacque have told me, "it's still hard". Even knowing she was "resting" and "comfortable" it was still hard, and Troy always made space for me to let me say as such. Even when Lynn's prayers for the caregivers and decision makers of my Lola brought me some comfort, it was still hard. And I hurt. I've let work carry me through the past week, but Tim's card brought me to tears and I finally let myself start crying. She is with God, but it still hurts.
But I know that God and his people are doing a Good Work even through this. And for all of this, and all that I cannot yet see and do not yet know that God is doing around me, through the Holy Spirit and his people here on Earth, I am so grateful. The flawed human that I am, I am so grateful that this is our God, and that my Lola is with him.
