Grandma's Legacy

The picture above was taken on what would be my grandma's last birthday (87).  It was also the last time I saw her.  It makes me smile as I was getting around on my scooter and my grandma on her walker.  Grandma went home to be with Jesus and grandpa on Sept. 2.  Although she was old and had broken her pelvis a week earlier, we had no warning that she would pass.  She was having trouble breathing on Friday morning and my mom got a call that they were transferring her from the nursing home to the hospital and five minutes later they called mom to tell her she had died.  After our initial shock, we realized what a blessing it was and once again I was reminded of God's perfect timing.  Grandpa died four months ago and during those four months grandma settled in comfortably in an assisted living community.  I can remember visiting her and even though dementia had taken much of my grandma's mind and personality, she still beamed when she saw me (and any of her family members).  And that is what I most remember about my grandma, her love of family and God.  As a child and before cell phones, she always just knew when we would be pulling in her driveway and she would be waiting for us on her brown bench on her front porch. During the last 10 months of my life I've learned a few things and one of them is money is just money and stuff is just stuff.  When it's all said and done, you can't take any of with you.  Grandma and Grandpa just cemented that for me.  It's not about how much money they made or the cars they drove.  Although I remember grandma handing me a $100 bill in college, at just the time I needed it.  Ha.  In life it's all about how you love and grandma loved well. 

This picture was taken three years ago.  My grandparents legacy will live on through their three children, six grandchildren and eleven great grandchildren.  It makes me smile to think of grandma with all her teeth and her mind in the loving arms of Jesus.  She was finally reunited with her brother, Max, who died in WW II - a constant hole in grandma's heart (my mother tells me).  That is the hope Jesus gives all his children.  Our lives here on earth is temporary but our lives in heaven with Him is for eternity so until we meet again, grandma.