I should have sensed something was up because I had a dream in which I was attending a funeral. I sort of dismissed the dream. Meaning it was during that time when I kept getting up from bed during the night. So, each time I would get up I hurried back to sleep so as to be able to sleep again and not be up the entire night until morning. It was the night leading into yesterday that it seemed I was up just about every hour during the night. Literally I would look at the clock, and it was only about 1 hour of sleep I had before I'd been up again. I remember it got to the point of slight frustration and did not know what to do so I prayed in tongues sometime during this night/early hours of the new day dawning.
The evening before one of my children called me to let me know about their grandmother, my former mother-in-law's condition was rapidly deteriorating as she was approaching her transition into heaven. She was a great friend to my mother throughout the years and to myself also. Even after my divorce she and I remained friends. When I would go to Ohio, I actually stayed at her house sometimes. You may be thinking to yourself how did that happen when you were divorced from her son? Friends that are true friends remain friends don't they. She would go on vacations with my mom and sometimes with them and our children too. My mom would have family dinners and invite her, my former husband's aunt, uncle and great aunt also. If a divorce has happened in your life, I am here to share that it doesn't always have to end in no communications with the former family you married into.
There was a particular time I went to Ohio for a visit and stayed with her and it was around my birthday. She insisted on paying for my rental car as a birthday gift to me. I said to her before I graciously accepted the gift what would your son think. She responded that she did not seem to be concerned because it was her money to spend how she wanted to spend it. See, I was concerned about her maybe going out on a limb so to speak with her son. She was concerned about blessing me. I knew she loved sweets and chocolates, and I would try to stop @ Harry London's Chocolates after leaving the Akron/Canton airport to bring to her. Throughout the years I would still find ways here and there to send a few sweets to her. She was kind, loving and an exceptional grandmother to our children and she prayed too. I would sometimes cook when I visited her, or I recall cleaning her oven for her on one of those visits. It was a self-cleaning type of oven, and it got very hot on the surface area of the stovetop. Well, the iron was resting on top of the stove, and never did I think to remove it while the oven was cleaning. The heat actually melted the bottom of the iron. I told her about it and offered to get her a new iron and she was like no big deal that she would just go and get another one. No yelling or making you feel bad about melting the iron. That was the easy-going kind of nature she had.
When we were first married, I would go shopping with her to stores. There was 1 time we went to Ted Jacob's in North Olmsted, and it was evening time and the store checked to see if what I wanted in my size was at a store in Lorain. It was and I asked her if we could there right then and there. Even though she may have been tired she said yes and there we went. Lorain was not just right around the corner from where we were at either. She loved well, she really did. She taught me how to make Dijon chicken, swiss steak and city chicken also.
So thankful and blessed I was able to visit with her when I was in town for my mother's celebration of life service a few weeks ago. I did bring her a few chocolates and chocolate pudding she was liking at the time. She looked frail to me at the time of our visit but lasted from near the end of March until yesterday early morning somewhere between 3-4am. I am most thankful for the time of prayer I had on her behalf the night before with one of my children. We prayed for grandma's transition to heaven to be easy, her children and grandchildren and whatever else Holy Spirit put on our hearts to pray about.
Before one of my children called me with the news, I should have known something was up because it is highly unusual for the mourning doves to just keep cooing yesterday morning when I had the front door open. I saw them once as I moved into my new place but never really have heard their gentle, peaceful cooing since then. They came I do believe to soothe the soul even before I received the news. God is faithful isn't He. Then all day long I literally heard the wind chimes I have in the front yard chiming it was like nonstop all day long. I love the tones of this particular windchime. It was as if an angel at times was out there gently touching it because at times it sounded like it was being shaken more so than wind causing it to create the music. My heart goes out to our children because within a few months they just had to say goodbye to both grandmothers. As we may be saddened here on earth, I know there were glad shouts of joy as she entered into heaven. That is what life is all about where you will spend all of eternity isn't it? I remember a poem a friend sent to me years ago when my father died. You probably already heard of this before. When a loved one dies, it is likened to a ship sailing away and there comes a point when you no longer see it in the distance. In that moment the others in heaven can see it coming in and there are glad shouts of rejoicing as they are welcomed into heaven. That is what life is all about.
Until we meet again, peace be still to a life well lived.
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