These are the words I shared at my grandma's celebration/memorial service on Saturday. This is what I always want to remember about her.
Musician. Writer. Innovator. Encourager. Hostess. Servant. Listener. Learner. Giver. Godly....these are just a few of the qualities I always admired about my grandma.
Musician – There was always a song in my grandma’s heart for she loved to praise God whether through singing or through the piano. It wasn’t until high school that I realized that families don’t sing at every get together like we did. However, it was my favorite to sit back and listen to my grandma play the piano and hear my grandpa sing. We’ve spent our lives watching them praise God together as a couple. Her love for music has been passed down to three generations as we’ve all learned how to play the piano from her…even my son was able to get in a few beginning piano lessons with her. Music and worship was as important to my grandma as breathing was to her.
Innovator – My grandma always had courage to go against the grain and to blaze her own trail. She knew how to weed out the unimportant and to see what was needed in order to more effectively serve God. She never let her age or her health stop her. She followed God in new paths, always sensitive to His leading whether it was to start or to take over a ministry or to invest her time into people. She was always creative with her ideas and gave people experiences to remember long after the program was over.
Writer – My grandma was never short on words. What she didn’t speak, she wrote. I’ll never forget the time when I was in high school and we were comparing manuscripts for books that we each were writing (oh man, they were pretty rough and at times, cheesy). If she wasn’t writing for a ministry newsletter or sending cards to others, she was composing songs for people as a way to celebrate special occasions and to let them know how special they were. It was fun having a grandma who got excited over writing as much as I did. She wrote the Young at Heart newsletter up until her death. She didn’t just write, she poured her heart into what she wrote. I’m really going to miss her phone calls for help because she can’t get a photo scanned in just right or because she lost another file on the computer.
Hostess – My grandma is known for her fun and for unknowingly being the life of a party. Her laughter was always contagious. As I reflect back on her life, she showed me much about the importance of taking the time to laugh and connect with others because mainly, people just want to belong and they want to be loved. She had a knack for making people feel welcome whether it was at church or in her home. And when grandma had a theme for a party or ministry event, she went all out with that theme in the decorations, paper goods, games, prizes and even in her dress! She always did it right and did it well for she saw it as a reflection of Christ and an opportunity to glorify Him.
Servant – All my life, my grandma has served her church and served others. She knew how to bring others along with her and we watched her teach them how to serve God through her passion for Him and her example. She was always doing things with purpose and that purpose was to share God’s love and hope with others.
Godly – I could always count on my grandma to be consistent in her faith. She never wavered on the things that really mattered even if it meant ridicule. Something changed in her over the past year as she became proof that age is irrelevant when it comes to our relationship with God. I’ve watched her faith grow and blossom into something that goes far beyond routine and into something vibrant, dynamic and peaceful. My grandma’s life exemplifies Psalm 119:92-93 (The Message translation) which says,
“If Your revelation hadn’t delighted me so, I would have given up when the hard times came. But I’ll never forget the advice You gave me; You saved my life with those wise words.”
As my grandma grew in God, she traded attitudes and mindsets that no longer mattered for a more heavenly perspective. We watched her joy become fuller and her peace become deeper as she trusted God regardless of what was going on inside of her body. She showed us what it meant to live in grace and how to die with grace. She showed us that life is full when it’s lived in Christ and that nothing can compare to a life with Him both here on earth and now in heaven.
The other day when I told my son that his great grandma went to heaven to be with Jesus, his face lit up with pure delight and wonder as he was excited that she was with Jesus, for even at his young age, he knew that is where his great grandma wanted to be the most. He was able to see her strong faith and then see her hope realized.
My grandma’s life and faith challenge me to proudly embrace all the ways that I am so much like her, to honor her legacy through the way that I live my life, to keep developing my musical and creative talents so I can use them to point others to Christ like she did, to keep my heart open and ready to share God’s love and encouragement with others regardless of opposition or cost, and to hunger after God and see that He is above all else
To the grandchildren, spouses, and great grandchildren:
I’ve been thinking a lot about our family tree lately, and God keeps bringing me back to the tree that is pictured in Psalm 1:1-3:
Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
This is what grandma spent her life showing us. This is her secret to a full life. And this is how a godly legacy gets passed down from one generation to the next. I challenge each of you to consider her life and her consistent testimony and decide what kind of family tree you want to be.
