Sunday, July 27, 2014

Goodbye (for now), Grandma

My dear Grandma passed away last week, and we spent yesterday celebrating her life. It was a day filled with family, friends, memories, laughter, lots of tears and tissue, and Jesus--mostly Jesus, as His name was truly lifted high because of her life.

My sweet Grandma with her youngest (me) and oldest (Christen) grandkids. 


With a shaky voice and tears fighting to pour out, this is what I shared at the service:

I lost the first of my four grandparents on July 17th of this year when my grandma “at the beach” went home to be with Jesus. In fact, the last words I spoke to her were, “I’ll see you when we’re both with Jesus.” Losing her rocked me, though I grieve with hope, knowing that I will get to see her again one day. In order to process her loss and figure out how to even grieve, I wrote this poem:

Grandma

It is with trembling we let you go
With our hearts shattered
And tear streaks scattered
For we know this was not your home

It is so plain to see
That although you loved deeply
And lived life completely 
Your heart was set toward eternity

With hope we grieve your loss
For we know we'll see you again
With Christ our Lord in Heaven 
Because of His work on the cross

It is only goodbye for now
Though the pain is so very raw
One day we'll again dance and sing along
Together at our Savior's feet we will bow 

Thank you for your love and life
For the legacy you’ve carried on
With a confident strength all along
Thank you for pointing us to Christ 

So, with trembling we let you go
With our hearts shattered
And tear streaks scattered
For we know you are now truly home