Grandma

"So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord." 2 Corinthians 5:6-8

We are praising the Lord that our beautiful and very loved Grandma is now present with the Lord.  We are saddened by our loss, but we are rejoicing that she is in the arms of her Savior.

I am posting on my blog the eulogy that was written by my sister-in-law and read at Grandma's funeral.  I want to have it recorded for our family history.

A Godly Heritage

Eulogy of our Grandmother

Grandpa and Grandma, loved the Lord. They loved the Word of God. They endeavored to live in a way that honored their Lord and His commands.

When I think of Grandma and Grandpa and the Godly heritage they left behind, I think of Deuteronomy 6:

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.

And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart.

You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.”

Grandma and Grandpa knew the importance of imbedding God’s Word deep in their own hearts. The Bible was their guide for life and practice.

“These words which I command you today shall be in your  heart.”

Grandma and Grandpa spent time making sure God’s Word, His truths, His precepts, were first in their hearts.

One of my fondest memories as a child was the opportunity to spend the night at Grandma and Grandpa’s house on Clearview, here in Ottumwa. Grandma always made me feel like a princess. In the evening, she would give me a bubble bath in the tub. Then she would let me use a fluffy “guest towel” and then, after I was dry, she would powder me with her own White Shoulders talc powder and let me wear one of her silky soft nightgowns to bed. There were fat feather pillows on the giant queen-sized guest bed.  And on the headboard was a cheerful figurine of a boy and girl on a teeter-totter. The girl’s skirt was a night light, and Grandma always left that light on for me in the night.

In the morning, I woke to Grandma making breakfast. She set the table with placemats, matching dishes and silverware. I got a little glass of orange juice and Grandma always poured a little extra cream on my cereal.

After breakfast, Grandpa would open the Bible and the little “Our Daily Bread” devotional booklet. Grandpa would read the Scripture and Grandma would read the devotional thought. They prayed together as we all held hands around the table. One of the phrases I vividly remember Grandpa repeating was “Forgive us when we fail you.”

Grandma was a wonderful woman. She selflessly gave of her time, energy, and service. But she and Grandpa both realized they “failed” to live up to God’s holy standards on a daily basis. Grandma is not in heaven today because of the sweet and kind woman she was. Grandma is in heaven because she realized she had “failed.” She knew she had “fallen short of the glory of God.”  She knew her only hope was found in God’s “gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” She trusted Christ’s death and resurrection alone for her eternal security. That assurance, that faith, transformed the way Grandma lived.  

Because of her salvation, Grandma served the Lord with her whole heart. My mother tells me of her own memories of Grandma serving in very tangible ways. When a missionary or special speaker would come to town, Grandma opened her home. She had a way of making visitors welcome and loved.

Doris Anderson mentioned to me how Grandma was always ready to show hospitality to anyone. “Your Grandma would have a chicken butchered and pie made from scratch before Sunday morning service just in case Grandpa happened to invite someone home for Sunday dinner!”

I love those memories. I love those stories. It was that servant’s heart and that godly model of love and service that Grandma taught to her children and grandchildren. Her service followed the instructions of Ephesians. It was “not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as a servant of Christ, doing the will of God from her heart, with goodwill doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men.”

And for that, I am very blessed. May we model that same kind of love and service before our children so Grandma’s heritage of faith will live on.