A sad day...

Today we laid to rest Shawn's grandma.  She was 89 years old.  It was a sad, sad day....but a sweet one, too.  So many kind people from her church came to the funeral, and even stood up to say a few words about her.  I was very moved by their words, and the words of her family that spoke....she clearly meant very much to so many people.  It made me think about my own life, and how I hope I am lucky enough to be loved by so many people, the way she was.  She loved her family, and had a servant's heart.  She volunteered hundreds and hundreds of hours of her time at her church, and with various ministries....lots of people have the good intentions to help others in need, but she REALLY put her whole self into serving others through ministry.  She was more than Shawn's grandma....she was like a second mother to him.  He is an amazing husband in part because of the influence of her and his mother....I think being raised by women made him sensitive and empathetic to others.  He spent more time with her than most people spend with their grandmothers, and for this reason her passing was especially hard for him.  I know she is one of the people in his life that he will always remember for loving him unconditionally.  She was SO proud of him and what he had accomplished in his life.....I know part of the reason he always tried as hard as he did to succeed was because of her....he told me that she always made a point to tell him how smart and wonderful he was growing up....I know that made a huge impact on him.
During the last week of her life, we have had some pretty deep conversations about life, and the afterlife.  We try to keep remembering God's words to us:
 "Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven..." (Matthew 5:12)
I have tried to comfort Shawn with that thought....that what his grandma is experiencing NOW is the really good part!!   God promises an eternity of happiness for His believers, and I KNOW she is with Him now....if we believe what God says to us, we have to look forward to meeting Him, and not think of that phase of our lives with fear.  This part is hard for us, because we have three tiny children, and feel like we are so far from that end...but really, in the scope of eternity, it's not so far away.  This last week was really hard on Shawn's family....his mother has been brave and strong and we are unbearably proud at her courage and how she is holding up.  She has really been a model of how to handle yourself with grace and love when you are having to let a loved one go and make hard choices....
This has been a week of lessons, and hardship...but happiness too.  Happiness that Grandma is no longer suffering, and that she is enjoying the beginning of eternity with her Maker in heaven!!  Tonight I had the twins in the car, and I pointed out the sky, and how beautiful it looked.  The sun was setting, and the clouds looked silver, and peach and orange and pink all at once.  They both studied the sky quietly for a minute, and then Hayden said, "Mommy, today was a special day."  I told her that she was right....today WAS a really special day.  

 Grandma on Christmas Eve with the twins...she LOVED Christmas, and loved spoiling her grandkids rotten!  

Grandma and Livi on the day of her birth....Grandma always made it to the hospital to welcome my babies into the world.  She was so proud of them!