Sunday, April 8, 2012

Glorious Day!

Happy Resurrection Day!
What a great day today! Wonderful service at church-even though we had to go to the gym for the "overflow". It was still a beautiful service, and I was impressed at how well our church had planned ahead for the event that we would need a place for those of us who made it to church "just in time"! I LOVE that we got to sing "Glorious Day"! It was an amazing moment to sing that song and think about the truth in the words. It overwhelms me:

"Living He loved me, dying He saved me
And buried He carried my sins far away
Rising He justified freely forever
One day He's coming, oh, glorious day, oh, glorious day"



It was one of those moments when everything around you just disappears and it's just you-singing worship, and gratitude to the Father. Thank you, Jesus, for being my savior and dying on the cross for me. 






My sweet "Grandmommie" joined us for church this morning. She also came to Sunday School with me after "Big Church", and she was treated like a princess in there! Several of my friends came over and introduced themselves and spoke with her. Our director even gave her a candy treat for her birthday (which was Wednesday- 91 years old!!- and which she ate on the way to our house after church!) and told her that we as a Sunday School class have prayed for her often in the past. 


Grandmommie spent a good while on our SS prayer list because a couple of years ago we almost lost her. She had a series of health problems that kept her in the hospital for an extended period of time. She couldn't seem to get her footing and as a result, we were told that she wouldn't make it much longer. It was terrible-I went to the hospital one afternoon to tell her my "goodbyes". I was the only one there with her at the time, and she asked me a few times to pray for her, with her, sing to her, etc. She was so at peace and ready to go. It was so hard because at one point she wanted to take a nap, and all I could do was sit there and watch her breathe-in and out- and wondering if each breath was going to be her last. 


But, God still had plans for Grandmommie here on earth, because she rallied and recovered and after a fairly extended period of time, went on with life. So...we are lucky to still have Grandmommie and now she is 91! She mentioned today how life is different now that she's elderly. I asked her how she feels about life now. She said, "Well, it's not as fun as it was, but it's good." A piece of my heart broke at that moment because I want her life to be AWESOME, not just "good", but I can only imagine how disappointing that would be to have so much of your freedom and your choice to do what you want taken away from you with age. She doesn't drive anymore and has to rely on others to do many things for her that she used to be able to do for herself. 


I also felt REALLY guilty today because I don't go see her at her assisted living facility near enough. I feel terrible about that and it kills me to admit it. I think I am a pretty bad granddaughter for that. I felt VERY convicted today to change that. I have NO excuse except that, like I have said before, I am not good at juggling tasks, and I usually feel like I am doing good to handle what is directly in front of me: being a wife, a mother, and an employee. Above and beyond that, I am not always reliable. 


I need to make a goal to go see her at least once a month. I pray for forgiveness and that the Lord will grant me time to make it right. I don't want to waste the time we are privileged to still have her with us, and I don't want her to feel lonely or unloved (I know that is how I would feel if my grandchildren didn't visit me). She made a really sad statement today over at my parents house. We were all in the kitchen and the cousins were all playing and she said, "I wish I could get to see all these kids grow up into adults." That took my breath away. We joked with her about "are you planning on going somewhere?" But, it was a sad shock of reality. I don't like to think about it. 


I can't stand to end this on a sad note, so let me just say that my Grandmommie is an amazing woman of faith. She has ALWAYS been a wonderful example to me of what a Godly woman is like. Growing up, she and my grandfather (Big Daddy) always lived far away from us in another state (Georgia and then later, Florida), but I always felt so close to them. We would mail audio tapes back and forth to each other full of messages of love and stories about what we were up to. Grandmommie would always include a "chat" on her tapes that she sent us. Her chats were just little stories about her childhood, and we loved to hear them. I always knew that she loved me, and I loved being with her. 


We went to my parents' house today after church for lunch, dessert, and the annual Cousins Easter Egg Hunt! This year was a little different because my sister and her family couldn't be there- they were missed! But, my boys and Ben, my brother's, girls had a great time hunting for eggs full of quarters! We had to hide the eggs inside because of the rain, but they didn't care! :-) 


Overall, it was just a nice, peaceful day. It's funny how your parents' house can always be a place of comfort and peace. That's how I feel about my parents' house- even though it's not the house they had when I was growing up, I still feel "at home" and "safe" there. I guess it's just because that's how my parents make me feel! :-)


So, I end today feeling so thankful- for God's gift of His son, for my sweet family, and for my life! Glorious day! 

No comments:

Post a Comment