When I was in my last 5 or 6 months of high school, my Dad got a job here in Medicine Hat. Mom & Dad moved here and left me in the care of my Grandma & Grandpa Bartell. I loved the time I lived with them and think back on it often. I remember how Grandma would ask me in the mornings what I'd like her to bake that day and when I'd return from school, I'd find my request cooling beside her oven... I could ask for the easiest or most complicated of treats and she'd find the time to make them. I remember one day, I'd come home from school to find no treat for an after school snack.... She had all the ingredients for donuts lined up on the counter, fat heating on the stove, sugar topping mixed and ready... "I'm going to teach you to make donuts today, dear!" she'd told me. She always found time to do something or to say something or teach me something so that I'd know how she loved me. Grandpa and I would sit down to dinner with her and tell her over and over how delicious the food was. We'd often spend the evenings playing games together or just sitting in the same room; the two of them reading and me doing my homework.
There is so much more to my Grandma than delicious cooking and baking that I admire in her. I find myself wondering what I could do to become a more Godly woman, a more giving woman, a kinder woman... A woman more like my Grandma. Her life has had an enormous impact on my life.
So, we went for a visit, Eli, Sam, Trevor & myself. Grandma had been feeling rundown and tired, like she'd run out of purpose before she ran out of time, but she was also full of joy. She smiled and laughed and told us stories all weekend. At one point, Grandma told me about a woman who worked there who had been asking her questions about the Lord. "Well, Grandma, I know that you're frustrated because you want to go Home, but what if God wants to use you to influence her for His Glory?" I've reminded her of that several times since our visit, when she starts to feel lonely for Heaven.
Yesterday morning, Grandma was very sick. Her lips, hands and feet were beginning to turn blue and she wasn't breathing very well. She pulled out of it (as she often does) and told my Aunt Donna about it last night, "I thought I was dying!" Donna asked her how she felt when she realized that she wasn't going to die then, and Grandma said something about being discouraged, but then she added that yesterday afternoon, she had the opportunity to lead that woman to the Lord! PRAISE GOD!
I'm really overwhelmed by this. I've said to my hubby over and over, "I just don't understand why He won't let her go Home!?!" The only thing that has made Grandma's life worth anything to her is her love for Jesus... And now, because Jesus has let her live long past when she wanted to die, another soul has been added to the Book of Life. Isn't He amazing?
I guess God's shown His hand.... He has a purpose for every soul, even the very young and the very old. I truly believe that He doesn't allow us to come Home to Him until our purpose has been achieved. Maybe Grandma's purpose has been realized and now He'll let her go....
2 comments:
Just the other week I was thinking about when you told Grandma that. My mom was telling me about the day when we all thought we were going to lose her. My mom said they had an amazing time of prayer & worship that morning...it was just a really special time. There were a couple of the nurses (who weren't Christians that they know of)...who just didn't want to leave the room during that time...they knew something special was going on & they wanted to be there. Then my mom said said almost the same thing...that she has had such a big impact on those nurses...and maybe God's not finished with her yet. I just smiled to myself...remembering when you had said the same thing:)
The lady she led to the Lord was one of the nurses who stuck around that day during the singing and the pastor's prayer.... Pretty amazing stuff.... Maybe you're right. Maybe God's got a few other people's hearts in mind for Grandma to impact!
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