Grieving with Hope: My Grandma

My grandma (on my dad’s side) passed this weekend. She was 90 years old.

The most important thing we could hope to do in this life is point people to Jesus. From a young age, she did that for me.

My grandma lost her teenage son to a car accident when I was an infant. We know God is close to the brokenhearted. 

My parents were in their teens when they had me. So, I spent a lot of time during the weekends with my grandma when I was young.

There’s a tender mercy about being partially raised by a grandma who is actively grieving, and whose faith is being formed in the fire of it all. 

God is close to the brokenhearted and He was big part of our time together. I remember her reading Psalm 23 to me. She spoke about God with such confidence. There was no question when she spoke. It was a blessing.

I remember when I was little she would blow dry my hair at her makeup desk, where I would always want to play with her makeup. So she got me my own set of makeup to keep there, too.

On Sundays, after church, she would get me McDonald’s and we would go to the cemetery where my uncle was buried and we would have a picnic there. She would tell me about him and talk about God. 

Eventually, we would grab the empty water jugs from her trunk, and walk to the nearest pump to fill them up. We’d water the flowers at his grave, and then all of the flowers around that looked like they needed watered. We’d pick off the dead flowers, and leave it all looking good.

On Sunday afternoons, she’d make spaghetti and meatballs in the most delicious Italian sauce. My dad, aunt and uncle would all come over with my cousins. We’d play board games together. The memories make me smile.

One of the most special things she left behind was this beautiful Psalm that she wrote.

Grandma’s are so special. I will surely miss mine. 

As I grieve, I grieve with hope that she is with God now. Thank you, Jesus!