I just got back from Illinois (given a few hours for sleep). I was there to celebrate my grandmother’s life and say my final goodbye’s to her. The week was busy, hard, but also really peaceful. I think for me the hardest part was going through the actual service. I have had a eulogy prepared in my head since January 2009. I was blessed to be able to share it.
I began meditating on this when I was on a 21-day fast on something of a personal retreat. In the dead of winter, I began reading my Bible for hours in the morning before going to the prayer room. I set myself to read through 10 chapters of the New Testament daily. Set with a good coffee and highlighters, I gave myself to the Word. I loved the New King James Version of the Bible and as I read through Luke 2 and the traditional Christmas story, I was reminded of how my grandmother always, always had to read that chapter before our Christmas dinner. No matter what arguments were going on in the house, she would sit and read aloud the story of the birth of Jesus and remind us of what Christmas meant. As I sat in the cold house, reading the words that I was so accustomed to, it dawned on me that every one of my family members has had opportunity to hear of Jesus.
Not just during Christmas, but consistently, she would talk about Jesus. She was constantly in the Word, always going to some church service. Parents want the best for their children, and sometimes in her approach she offended people. Nonetheless, her broken attempts resulted in everyone in her family hearing about Jesus and I think God would say to her, “Good job, you did well. You opened the door for your family to hear Me.” And because of her, my family is marked by God. Jesus wins.
She left a legacy and good fruit. Blessings for the hungry.
On a lighter note, last Saturday I thoroughly enjoyed a good ole fashioned Americana picnic in a park by a lake. Under the shade of trees, with the grill going and all Illinois family together, we all got good rest and refreshing of heart.
