Finally, brothers and sisters, farewell. Put things in order, listen to my appeal, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.
2 Corinthians 13:11-13
There really is no easy way to say goodbye. Each of us along life’s journey, at different times and in different places, and for different reasons will have to say goodbye. We maybe bidding that farewell to co -workers when we take a new job, we may be moving to a new community, or we may be saying that final farewell that Paul bids to those in Corinth.
For many people as our days on earth come to a close we know itas well as everyone else does. Our bodies all will eventually wear out and we will all surely die, but for people of faith this death is but a passage to something much greater. We know, by faith, that this death is only temporary and that we too will enjoy a resurrection like Jesus did when our perishable bodies put on imperishability. Since, by faith, we look forward to the resurrection of our bodies, we also know that in order to be resurrected we must first die. Granny knew this, and greeted death like a long lost friend. In many ways she not only taught me how to live, but in this final act she taught me how to die.
Granny was born April 1st, 1916, and wasquite proud of the fact that she was an “April Fool's” girl. Her birthday was always special and always brought out the humor in the whole family. I had never seen so many ways to poke fun at one day of the year, but we seemed to take it to an art form. Granny’s birthday that I remember the most, however, was her last.
From my earliest memories I recall that Granny took birthdaysvery seriously. Except for the years that I was enlisted in the Navy, when no one could call me, Granny always called me early on the morning of my birthday. Each year she would make the rounds of the grandchildren and great-grandchildren, when they came, calling each of us on our respective birthdays just to say how much she loved us and to remind us of how she first heard about each of our arrivals.
Like clockwork every year the phone would ring and a cheerful voice would greet me with, “Happy Birthday John David.” No matter how groggy I was, this made me smile and made my day so much brighter. Granny would take justa couple of minutes retelling of the day I was born and how my father announced to her that I had arrived. Each year it was as if it was the first time she was experiencing this all over again. It was easy to tell that it was a joyful time for her too. She loved to celebrate a birthday and it seemed that brightening days was her mission in life. It was always a brief call, but it was always meaningful and heartfelt. And, never did I become too old for Granny’s love or phone calls; today I miss them tremendously.
When possible, Granny would make an event of our birthdays. For much of my life we lived relatively close to her, which meant that I could expect to see a lot of her. Birthdays meant cakes, and balloons, and crafts, and games, and whatever else Granny could devise. The real beauty was that Granny took the time to get to know each of us, in a very personal way. For instance, I turned six just after the Apollo 11 mission of 1969 and my interest in being an astronaut peaked at that point; I was anxious to be the next Neil Armstrong or Buzz Aldrin. Granny wasted no time in picking up on this, and for my birthday I had a cake in the shape of a spaceship. My sister’s was always a doll, or flowers, or Donny Osmond. No matter what it was, it was timely to what we were interested in at the time.
Granny’s interest in continuing to know each of her grandchildren never waned. Even when her health began to fail, she would continue to take an interest in what was going on in our lives, and was never too busy to listen. She connected with us where we were without it feeling odd or out of place. Each grandchild also was quite interested in Granny’s birthday. She always reminded us that she was born on April Fool’s day and evidenced this in how much of a nut she was; not that she was as nutty as she claimed, but it made for a good story. Granny always found a way to cut up, even just a little on her birthday. Usually she would tell us goofy stories or play practical jokes on us, but was always full of laughter.
We loved our Granny with all our hearts and wanted nothing but the best life had to offer. One thing she had always wanted in life was to have an 80th birthday party, but no worse than we wanted to give her one. About 8 months before her 80th birthday the doctors unexpectedly found that she had a brain tumor.
The tumor showed itself by causing her to have headaches and some loss of balance. As a precaution, my aunt took her to the doctor who immediately ordered a series of test – only to confirm what had been feared. Within a couple of weeks of discovering the tumor surgery was performed in an effort to further confirm the nature of the tumor, and unfortunately the inoperability of it. I distinctly remember a sense of being overwhelmed by grief at this news, and as the doctor shared the news with us our family gathered in prayer, and prepared for the road ahead. Unfortunately, we had no idea then just how short that road was to be.
After Granny recovered from the surgery, she began a regimen of chemo and radiation treatments. For a while they seemed to be working. Granny’s speech and balance improved, and she was even able to resume some of her artistic endeavors. Each of us was praising God for the renewed sense of hope we had for her. Then about three months into the treatments, she stopped responding to them. The tumor began to grow again, and once again we started to notice her speech and balance start to waver. For a short period of time she seemed to hold status quo, but even that was short lived.
Granny started to slowly fade, and each visit I had with her I noticed that she was a little less sure, a little more confused, and a little more tired. However, Granny still found so much pleasure in our visits and it obviously invigorated her to share this way. Gradually, she went from walking from room to room, to us wheeling her around in a wheelchair, to eventually being confined to her hospital bed provided by Hospice.
Granny’s birthday was approaching as we began to make plans for her birthday party. In the back of our minds, although none of us wanted to say so out loud, each of us knew that this would most likely be her last birthday party. By actually saying this we feared that it would actually come true, so we kept it to ourselves. We blindly went on making our plans as if Granny would live forever. However, the closer we got the less likely it seemed that Granny would even make it to her birthday. So, thinking outside the box, moved her party up to the week before her birthday.
On the day of the party, Granny was so tired and weak, and so elated for so many people that loved her to be coming by just to say how much they loved her. Each person that came would sit with Granny for just a few minutes and tell her happy birthday. They would each talk about how they appreciated her friendship and Granny would smile. She still had the faculties enough to squeeze a hand or attempt a feeble smile, but that was about all she could muster. As I got to spend my time with her, she held my hand and we smiled at each other. I told her about the things that were going on in my life, wished her a happy birthday, and told her that I loved her. She smiled and was able to mouth, “I love you,” and “thank you.”
Although her birthday was less than a week later, Granny didn’t make it – here on earth. She ended up spending her 80th birthday in the arms of a loving God. However, the gift she gave us in love over the years, in making sure that each of us knew that we were special is enough to last several lifetimes.
Of all the deaths I have ever experienced in my life, hers I felt in a way that surprised me and others. The day that she breathed her last I had left work a few minutes early in order to spend a few more precious moments with my beloved grandmother. My wife taught school that year a little closer to where Granny was and went straight there after school; I was to meet her there.
When I was still about 20 minutes from being with her I suddenly felt a rush come over me that I still cannot explain. It felt like something or someone blowing past me, even while I drove. I knew in a way that I cannot explain that Granny had just died. Within a couple of minutes my wife called me to let me know that Granny was gone. I replied the only way that I could at that moment, “I know.” It pretty much freaked both of us out, but was indicative of the incredible relationship that I enjoyed with an incredible grandmother.
I believe that we have a deep spiritual relationship with our grandparents that words simply cannot fully explain. Granny is but one example of how I felt with each of my grandparents. With her, I enjoyed a bond that goes beyond words, but not beyond my heart.
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| The Apostle Paul Rembrandt, 1633 |
There really is no easy way to say goodbye. Each of us along life’s journey, at different times and in different places, and for different reasons will have to say goodbye. We may
For many people as our days on earth come to a close we know it
Granny was born April 1st, 1916, and was
From my earliest memories I recall that Granny took birthdays
Like clockwork every year the phone would ring and a cheerful voice would greet me with, “Happy Birthday John David.” No matter how groggy I was, this made me smile and made my day so much brighter. Granny would take just
When possible, Granny would make an event of our birthdays. For much of my life we lived relatively close to her, which meant that I could expect to see a lot of her. Birthdays meant cakes, and balloons, and crafts, and games, and whatever else Granny could devise. The real beauty was that Granny took the time to get to know each of us, in a very personal way. For instance, I turned six just after the Apollo 11 mission of 1969 and my interest in being an astronaut peaked at that point; I was anxious to be the next Neil Armstrong or Buzz Aldrin. Granny wasted no time in picking up on this, and for my birthday I had a cake in the shape of a spaceship. My sister’s was always a doll, or flowers, or Donny Osmond. No matter what it was, it was timely to what we were interested in at the time.
Granny’s interest in continuing to know each of her grandchildren never waned. Even when her health began to fail, she would continue to take an interest in what was going on in our lives, and was never too busy to listen. She connected with us where we were without it feeling odd or out of place. Each grandchild also was quite interested in Granny’s birthday. She always reminded us that she was born on April Fool’s day and evidenced this in how much of a nut she was; not that she was as nutty as she claimed, but it made for a good story. Granny always found a way to cut up, even just a little on her birthday. Usually she would tell us goofy stories or play practical jokes on us, but was always full of laughter.
We loved our Granny with all our hearts and wanted nothing but the best life had to offer. One thing she had always wanted in life was to have an 80th birthday party, but no worse than we wanted to give her one. About 8 months before her 80th birthday the doctors unexpectedly found that she had a brain tumor.
The tumor showed itself by causing her to have headaches and some loss of balance. As a precaution, my aunt took her to the doctor who immediately ordered a series of test – only to confirm what had been feared. Within a couple of weeks of discovering the tumor surgery was performed in an effort to further confirm the nature of the tumor, and unfortunately the inoperability of it. I distinctly remember a sense of being overwhelmed by grief at this news, and as the doctor shared the news with us our family gathered in prayer, and prepared for the road ahead. Unfortunately, we had no idea then just how short that road was to be.
After Granny recovered from the surgery, she began a regimen of chemo and radiation treatments. For a while they seemed to be working. Granny’s speech and balance improved, and she was even able to resume some of her artistic endeavors. Each of us was praising God for the renewed sense of hope we had for her. Then about three months into the treatments, she stopped responding to them. The tumor began to grow again, and once again we started to notice her speech and balance start to waver. For a short period of time she seemed to hold status quo, but even that was short lived.
Granny started to slowly fade, and each visit I had with her I noticed that she was a little less sure, a little more confused, and a little more tired. However, Granny still found so much pleasure in our visits and it obviously invigorated her to share this way. Gradually, she went from walking from room to room, to us wheeling her around in a wheelchair, to eventually being confined to her hospital bed provided by Hospice.
Granny’s birthday was approaching as we began to make plans for her birthday party. In the back of our minds, although none of us wanted to say so out loud, each of us knew that this would most likely be her last birthday party. By actually saying this we feared that it would actually come true, so we kept it to ourselves. We blindly went on making our plans as if Granny would live forever. However, the closer we got the less likely it seemed that Granny would even make it to her birthday. So, thinking outside the box, moved her party up to the week before her birthday.
On the day of the party, Granny was so tired and weak, and so elated for so many people that loved her to be coming by just to say how much they loved her. Each person that came would sit with Granny for just a few minutes and tell her happy birthday. They would each talk about how they appreciated her friendship and Granny would smile. She still had the faculties enough to squeeze a hand or attempt a feeble smile, but that was about all she could muster. As I got to spend my time with her, she held my hand and we smiled at each other. I told her about the things that were going on in my life, wished her a happy birthday, and told her that I loved her. She smiled and was able to mouth, “I love you,” and “thank you.”
Although her birthday was less than a week later, Granny didn’t make it – here on earth. She ended up spending her 80th birthday in the arms of a loving God. However, the gift she gave us in love over the years, in making sure that each of us knew that we were special is enough to last several lifetimes.
Of all the deaths I have ever experienced in my life, hers I felt in a way that surprised me and others. The day that she breathed her last I had left work a few minutes early in order to spend a few more precious moments with my beloved grandmother. My wife taught school that year a little closer to where Granny was and went straight there after school; I was to meet her there.
When I was still about 20 minutes from being with her I suddenly felt a rush come over me that I still cannot explain. It felt like something or someone blowing past me, even while I drove. I knew in a way that I cannot explain that Granny had just died. Within a couple of minutes my wife called me to let me know that Granny was gone. I replied the only way that I could at that moment, “I know.” It pretty much freaked both of us out, but was indicative of the incredible relationship that I enjoyed with an incredible grandmother.
I believe that we have a deep spiritual relationship with our grandparents that words simply cannot fully explain. Granny is but one example of how I felt with each of my grandparents. With her, I enjoyed a bond that goes beyond words, but not beyond my heart.
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