My grandma, Marian Glass, went home to be with Jesus on May 20. I miss her, but it's for selfish reasons. She is forever safe, forever healthy, and forever free from pain.
Over the past two weeks, memories have flooded my mind; memories that I want to share with my family now, and my kids some day. Grandma's house was an hour away from ours; when we were younger, this allowed for lots of sleepovers. My sisters and I shared the room with the bunk bed/trundle. I would worry that the bed was going to collapse on me since it had been around since my dad was young:) The house sits on a big hill with a creek at the bottom. All the cousins would roll or sled down the hill, depending on the season. Grandma had the best toboggan! We would catch turtles, or watch John and Blakey catch turtles, and count them in the bucket. Christmas time holds the most memories with my grandma. Usually right on Christmas day there'd be a great meal (with lots of mashed potatoes for Emily), Barbie game-playing (Abi never cared if her boyfriend was Poindexter), John and I sharing our bench when we got old enough to be a the adult table, cheating with the Rubik's cube, taking candy canes off the tree, playing with the train, sitting in front of the fire or space heater, wrapped in Grandma's shawls, white elephant exchange fun, Grandma's hand made gifts for us, and a lot of sharing and catching up with family. Grandma made delicious chocolate cakes for each of our birthdays, each year! She spent countless hours watching our sporting events, from AYSO soccer games to college volleyball. She brought treats for my team during preseason on several occasions. She would stop by my dorm room to bring chocolate chip cookies. She knew all my roommates and my teammates, and they all called her Grandma Glass.
The memories that stand out the most right now are the more recent ones. One year ago, Grandma drove to our house to meet Luke, her sixth great-grandchild, when he was a week old. She just sat on the couch and stared at him; she told me she didn't want to let go. I had the privilege of watching Grandma line dance at one of her classes. She was pretty good! I remember sitting at her kitchen table on a beautiful day this March while she got excited because we let her eat the crust piece of a loaf of bread I made. Only a few days before she died, she was at our house to celebrate Luke's first birthday. She loved holding him and watching him play with the little egg shaker that she kept in her purse for him. She brought it for him to keep that day. I am so thankful, as I look back, that God gave me a treasured last memory of my grandma. I can see Luke taking steps, on his own, toward her and giving her neck a squeeze before she left. I gave her a hug and we both said "I love you."
As I worshipped in church this past Sunday, I was in awe of the joy around me and the joy I felt about praising God. It made me think about what Heaven must be like on a Sunday morning, or every morning for that matter. Grandma is worshipping WITH God, and I cannot imagine a more joyous scene. Thank you, God, for preparing such home for us.
I love you, Grandma.
