Yes, we're home. And it's been the hardest 2 weeks ever.
1 week after being home from Ethiopia, we lost my sweet Grandma. Yesterday we had her memorial service, exactly 2 weeks from the day our family was reunited at the airport. I don't understand the ways of the Lord, but I will say that I am thankful that Grandma knew Jesus and was surrounded by her loving family when she went to be with Him. This is a picture I took only a few days before she was gone.
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| The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” Job 1:21b |
I promise to post about the kids soon and I have so many pictures of course. But because this blog is about more than just adoption, it's about making Christ known in every aspect of our life- I simply could not move on without sharing about my precious Grandma.
I had the wonderful privilege of sharing a tribute to Grandma at the service yesterday. I know it's wordy, (when am I not??!!) but I would love for you to read it and think about your own life and the legacy you will leave behind someday...
One of my favorite scriptures is Colossians 3:12-15. It says: “Therefore,
as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with
compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive
one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord
forgave you. And over all these
virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your
hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.”
As I
remember Grandma today, I can’t help but think of this passage. It just fits
who she was to me. Though Grandma wasn’t a bible scholar or preacher by any
means, she was one of God’s beloved children- one who knew that she was dearly
loved by Him and had a simple, child-like faith in Jesus. That is what she
taught me. This verse talks about being clothed in these different virtues. Anyone
who knew Grandma for more than a few minutes, experienced her compassion and kindness
in some way. Grandma laughed with you and cried with you. And whether it was
making food for 5 or 50 people, sewing baby blankets and clothes, traveling
around the world, hosting parties for every holiday, or just sitting with a
listening ear- she was definitely a people person in her own quiet way. She was
also a woman who was humble and gentle. She never wanted anyone to fuss over
her or make a big deal. Well, except when it came to rubbing her feet. Oh yes-
that was a big deal! She used to pay us kids a dime or even quarters to rub
those calloused feet- until we got old enough to be grossed out and so we’d
pass the job down to a younger cousin!
Grandma’s
gentleness grew as the years went by. I saw her melt as she held her first
great-grandchild and witnessed her joy and excitement at each and every one to
come after. A few years ago she started attending women’s bible study with me.
I loved having Grandma there as we opened God’s word together and during the
week I would call her to see how she was doing on her lesson. She would kind of
dance around the subject and ask how everyone in our family was doing or talk
about some random thing. Finally after a while, she confessed that it was very
difficult to do the study and hard for her to pay attention, but she kept
coming because it made her so happy to see me and the kids every week. That was
Grandma for you… she could never get enough family time.
Just by
taking a look around, I think I can safely say that Grandma had many more
friends than enemies. She was quiet, but loved making friends with people. She was
not perfect, but she knew how to forgive when someone had wronged her and she
encouraged me to do the same in my life. And when you saw how still in love my
Grandparents were after 53 years of marriage, that wisdom went much deeper than
simply words. Grandma and Grandpa lived out the saying that there is no love
without forgiveness and there is no forgiveness without love.
And over all these virtues put on love,
which binds them all together in perfect unity.
Every
memory I have of Grandma reminds me of how much she loved her family. The
sweetest times of my childhood were spent playing at Grandma’s house or being
on a trip with her and Grandpa. Even in the darkest of times, I always knew
that Grandma and Grandpa were there and they loved me. My children and husband experienced
that same kind of love from her as well. What a gift.
The end of the Colossians passage says: Let the peace of Christ rule in
your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be
thankful.
Towards the end of Grandma’s earthly life, her physical body
began to fail. She had heart attacks, a stroke, and deadly cancer. There were
several times in the past 4 years that we did not think she would survive. But
not only did God give her another few miracle years, He gave her incredible peace
in the midst of it all. And He gave her a husband who cared for her and loved
her unconditionally. After one of her trips to the hospital Grandma told me
that there must be a reason that God had spared her life- some reason that she
was still alive. I told her there was- so she’d better live it well! And she did.
She got a few more years of “bonus time” we liked to call it.
Grandma was so excited for Randy and I to bring our 2 newest
children home. Either her or Grandpa would call about once a week to check in
and see if there was any news about the adoption and she would get anxious if
the blog hadn’t been updated in over a week! She was just ready to love on
those kids and wanted to know why in the world it was taking so long! It was
her idea for mom to come with me to Ethiopia a few weeks ago and I’m so thankful
for that. And I will never forget her face that day a week and a half ago when
I brought the kids to the hospital to see her. She completely lit up! She was
like her old self- joking with the kids and wanting to know all about the trip.
I snapped a picture, not knowing if it would be the last time I would see her
smile this side of heaven.
It was.
So many
times this week, I have closed my eyes and seen Grandma’s smiling face or heard
her voice. I want to pick up the phone and call her and tell her about how it’s
going with the kids or get excited and anticipate with her about Nati and
Mihret’s first Easter at home and dying eggs with her. I don’t want to have to
tell my 3 year old yet again why Great Grandma Mallet isn’t home when we go to
her house- because that’s where she’s supposed to be right?
A few
days before she passed, Grandma told Grandpa “Jesus has me in His arms.” It was
very hard for Grandpa and all of us, but she had such a peace. And now that
Grandma is truly HOME, we are thankful for that. I loved my Grandma dearly and
will miss her so much, but I am so grateful for all of the wonderful time I got
to have with her and Grandpa these past 32 years.
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| Grandma and Grandpa surrounded by their family (minus the 2 newest great-grandchildren) |
