Well Done, Good and Faithful Servant, 1918-2013

Grandma with her great-granddaughter and namesake

Last week, we laid my grandmother to rest.  She was my last living grandparent, and she would have been 95 this Thursday.  Her lovely Christian life was darkened at the end by Alzheimer's, and she has not known us for 6 years.  This is her with my boys the last time she knew who they were.  I'm glad she had a chance to meet the baby.

The oldest is 14 now, and he was a pall bearer for the funeral, along with my first cousin who is the same age as he, two of my adult cousins, my husband, and my uncle.  I do not know if my son will know how much that meant to me until he is my age and watching children of his own grow up.  As I looked at the two 14-year-olds standing between the men and carrying her to her final resting place, I thought how proud she would be if she knew them now.  Perhaps she is able to get a glimpse of this world now and see them serving her right until the end.  Two fine boys who are growing up in the way that she taught her own children.  She was the last of her siblings and most of her friends of her own generation.  Now she joins my grandfather and the loved ones who have gone before her on the other side, but the younger generation is rising up to carry on.  Some people say our teenagers are the world/country/church of tomorrow.  But I say they are the world of today.  They are our country today.  They are the church of today.  Rest in peace, Grandma.  You've done your job.  You've raised your children well.  We will continue to raise the next generation well.  They are our hope.

Well done, good and faithful servant.

And when I come to die, give me Jesus.

And when I come to die, give me Jesus.

And when I come to die, give me Jesus.

You can have all this world, give me Jesus.