Grandma...my hero.

I've been living with my Grandma now for more than a year.  She will be 81 next month and is not in the best of health.  However in the last few months I have begun to see her really start to slip in her mind and that is a tough thing to be witness to.  She forgets nearly anything she is told, she is easily frustrated, and I am beginning to see where I get my stubborn streak from.  But the hardest to watch might be her preparation for leaving this world.  She goes through old letters and papers and sets them aside as things that different family members might want.  She talks often of leaving and of how much she misses her sisters and parents who have gone before her.

I do not look forward to the day that she passes away.  I hope it is not for a long time yet.  Grandma has been a shining light in my life for as long as I can remember.  She has always been a listening ear when I needed it, a prayer warrior, and encourager and one who shows unconditional love to all within her reach.  She has demonstrated to me how to show the love of Jesus to those who cause her pain, how to persevere no matter the circumstance, and the joys of the little things in life.   I am quite certain that I will never hear a bird sing or  listen to the wind blow without thinking of her and of how she enjoys those two things so much.

Dad and Grandma

The thing she doesn't realize is just how far a reach her influence has had over the years.  It is not uncommon that I will meet someone whose life she has touched.  She sees herself as a small person (she's not quite 5 feet tall) without much influence, but what I have seen is a mild mannered woman with a superhuman capacity to love, encourage, teach, and pray.  In many ways, she is my hero.

She can not drive, has difficulty walking, one arm is nearly immobile and she can not see all that well.  But she is still one of the most amazing women I have ever known in my life.   I am so blessed to get to live with her.  I am blessed to get to help take care of her as she gets older.

We often take for granted our loved ones.  We get busy and forget to call or choose to let other things take priority in our lives because after all...we can talk to them later.  But living with Grandma reminds me that that is simply not true.  Sadly, one day they will be gone, so we must take advantage of the time that we are given.