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Bittersweet Goodbye
Well….I’ve re-written this post half a dozen times now so I’m realizing that I’m having a hard time with words. I just got home from my grandmother’s funeral. She’s a Christian so I know she’s in heaven with Jesus…and with her mom and husband….and many others that passed on before I got here… I’m happy for her because she was in a lot of pain there for a while and has now been relieved of all her suffering. She died in peace and entered a celebration.
I have a lot of memories of my grandmother and as happy as I am for her it’s sad to say goodbye. When I was little, every time I went to visit her for an extended period of time, she’d feed me so much I always threw up. I guess I felt obligated to eat everything she set before me…and let’s face it, she was a good cook…but eventually it always caught up with me. She made the best chicken n’ dumplin’s ever. For a long time she smoked and all her food had a hint of stale cigarettes. That was pretty gross but she finally quit and the real flavor of the food got to shine!
A lot of people came to her funeral today and many people loved her. So, we’ll all say goodbye knowing we’ll see her again. Death is always kind of hard for the ones left behind but I know she was ready and is enjoying herself now. I’ll miss her cooking, her sneaking a kiss from Jonathan, and her funny quips. She really loosened up as she got older.
If she were to look back over her life and give us some advice, I wonder what she’d say. She has a totally different idea of what eternity looks like now that she’s entered it. I believe, since that’s the longest part of our lives, that should be our focus even while we’re here. How easy it is to get distracted with the passing stressors of life – here today, gone tomorrow. I’m starting to consider loosening up myself. I mean, if I’m going to learn that lesson and loosen up when I get older anyway – why not start now?? There’s a lot I can learn from grandma…….. I hope some of her sinks into me.
Goodbye grandma. You, pa-pa, and granny be ready for me when I see you again! 
Matthew 6:19-21, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”