Saying Goodbye

I am saying goodbye to my grandmother.

She went home to Heaven at midnight and at last, she is with Jesus – her Lord and Savior – the One she has been longing for. I know she will  be full of joy as she is in Glory now, reunited with my grandfather, who was her great love for 64 years.

My grandmother – “Mother”, as we called her – was born on November 22, 1910 in a little town in Manitoba. Her lifetime saw two World Wars and  the Great Depression. Things like cars, telephones, electric appliances, televisions, and computers become commonplace for every home. She raised six children, welcomed and loved fifteen grandchildren, thirty-three great-grandchildren, and at least eighteen great-great-grandchildren (I’ve lost count).

She and my grandfather had one of the greatest love stories of the century. I never tired of listening to her tell of how they met, how much she was not interested in him, and how God put such a love for him in her heart. Mother once told me that even after 60+ years of marriage, her knees still went weak at the sight of her husband. What a rare thing that is.

Mother was an amazing woman. Her mind was sharp to the end and she told me just a few months ago about how she still prayed daily for all of us by name. She said she would “walk” into each one of our homes as she prayed, seeing what God would show her to talk to Him about concerning us. I will miss that, knowing that she was praying for me.

I will remember Mother’s long hugs, and how she would always respond to an I love  you, with I love you more. I will remember Mother’s delicious potato salad (which she showed me how to make) and her sponge cake with custard filling (which I have yet to master). I will remember Mother’s stories of her past and how she could still recite, without hesitation, poetry she had memorized in the first grade. I will remember Mother patiently teaching a fidgety nine-year-old how to crochet because I wanted to make beautiful things like she did. There is evidence of how well I learned everywhere in my home. I will remember Mother scolding me for my many disobediences, giving me advice on everything from dating to marriage to child-raising, and for accepting me just exactly as I was. She has left a treasured legacy of love and faith in Jesus Christ.

Mother, you will be forever loved and always missed.

Until we meet again . . .