My grandma's funeral was perfect.
She had kept a spiral notebook with wishes in it. It was a blessing to know what she wanted. It was no surprise that she wanted all family involved. My uncle Jay did the service on Saturday. His words were spoken with such love. They made us all laugh, and cry, and most of all, flood our minds with memories of Grandma. Phillip led the prayer service on Friday night and the burial service on Saturday. His use of scripture provided such comfort and reassurance.
The nine grandsons were pallbearers~from my older brother Matt down to John Howard. They are all such good looking men. My soon-to-be sister-in-law, Karen Goldsmith, played a piece on the piano when Grandma's casket and the family entered the church. I was honored to read my grandma's four favorite verses. My sister Mandy read Grandma's obituary. My cousin John sang "In the Garden" (as requested by Grandma). He sang a song with such meaning to Grandma, he sang it beautifully, he held it together while we all cried. When he was done, he walked passed Grandma's casket & looked at it with such love. My cousin Eric composed and played a piano piece for Grandma. It was amazing. At the end of the burial service the eight great grandchildren released balloons. All of the balloons floated towards heaven. At the luncheon Grandpa had Grandma's favorite meal catered: roast beef, potatoes, gravy, green bean casserole and angel food cake. My grandpa has been so sweet and so sad. My grandparents had been married 63 years this past September. 63 years. My grandpa's four kids have been by his side every step of the way. As my dad and uncle were helping the funeral home take my grandma's body out of the house for the last time, my grandpa sat on the couch, waving, crying and repeating, "bye my sweetie, bye my sweetie, bye my sweetie..."
Grandma, yours is a life to remember...you will continue to live on in all of us.
Scripture - Missy Jensen
Anabel had four favorite verses that she had referenced in her bible. They gave her great comfort, encouragement and strength over the years:
Isaiah 41:13 “For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, “Do not fear; I will help you.””
Psalm 37:4 “Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.”
Proverbs 13:13 “Whoever scorns instruction will pay for it, but whoever respects a command is rewarded.”
I Thessalonians 4:11 “Make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands, just as we instructed you before.”
My little Anabel wanted to be right by the casket and looking at her Great Granny as much as she could during the visitation. I cherished every moment holding her and talking to her about how Grandma was in heaven now.
Grandpa and his four children.
I love you Grandma.
My grandma has battled cancer on and off for over ten years. This picture was taken at Thanksgiving 2011. Shortly after Thanksgiving my grandma's doctor advised her that further chemo treatments would not be effective. She looks amazing in this picture but I know she was hurting. She never complained. When treatments stopped and hospice started, I had many sleepless nights. There were so many things I wanted to tell my grandma. One night I got up started writing and couldn't stop. A few days later I was able to go over to my grandparents house with Phillip and read my letter to Grandma. The letter isn't perfect nor does it include everything but I was so thankful to have the opportunity to read it to her. I wanted to put it on here, flaws and all, so I could remember exactly what I read to her.
Dear Grandma,
Thank you for being the sweetest grandma a girl could ever ask for. I have always felt loved and supported by you. You always make time for me. Whenever I ask if I can visit you, the answer is always, "yes." Whether it was the first time my mom let me walk over by myself, riding my bike over, visiting with my friends, running over, riding the dirt bike, 4-wheeler, golf cart, lawn mower, snowmobile, driving a car, introducing you to Phillip for the first time and now I am able to bring my three kids over to experience your unconditional love. As I drive up your lane, my heart is full because I know your loving arms are waiting for me.
I am so thankful we grew up only a half mile from your house. As a child, I loved "helping" you in the garden. Your tomatoes and radishes were my favorite. You made gardening look easy! Now I realize how much work it really is...not to mention all the canning you did! I loved that you grew pumpkins for us. Picking apples in the fall is another favorite memory. I always wanted to be the one Grandpa was lifting up in the loader bucket to pick apples. Here again, picking apples was fun for me~but I had no idea how much work went into the apple peeling, sauce making, canning and freezing.
I also enjoyed feeding the chickens and picking eggs. You made doing chores a fun experience. The reason everything was fun at your house was because you never complained. I can't recall ever hearing you talk about how much you had to do, not wanting to do it or not having enough time. Thank you Grandma for being such a loving wife, mother, grandmother and great granny. Thank you for your diligent, quiet example of how to do the task set before you without complaining, all the while loving those around you and caring for them.
Growing up, I was blessed to have you make me a birthday cake and celebrate my birthday with you and grandpa each year. I loved that you always called a few days before my birthday to ask what kind of cake I wanted...even though you knew I would say, "angel food!"
I loved paling games at your house~Old Maid, Tidily Winks, pick-up-sticks, Twister & the adults playing The Farming Game. Games were fun because you always made time for them. You were never rushed. You played and laughed with us. I can still see the sparkle in your eye and hear your laugh when you would pull the "Old Maid" card out of my hand!
Thank you for your example of being a loving and supportive wife. You were always helping Grandpa when he needed it. My favorite time during bailing was "break time." We would sit in the shade of the big tree in front of the house and have sandwiches and cookies. You always made sure we had enough and took one more cookie!!!
Grandma, I haven't even talked about your cooking yet! Whenever we were invited over for lunch or supper, we knew it was going to be GOOD! A normal meal at your house was like a holiday for us...and holidays were a feast! The meat, potatoes, vegetables, salads and desserts, EVERYTHING was delicious! The reason it was so good was because it was cooked with love...and a little bit of butter!
Family has always been a priority to you. Watching you care for my Great Granny left a big impression on me. You always visited her and included her. I loved Great Granny~she also always made me feel welcomed when I visited. When I see Pussy-Willows, I think of Great Granny.
The way you love your husband and children is a model for me. You are always interested in what is going on in their lives. I can tell you support them in all they do. When someone is going through a tough time, I can see your heart ache for them. I know you are lifting them up in prayer.
Thank you for loving God and being his faithful servant. Thank you for teaching us that all we have is His. Thank you for reading Bible stories to us when we were young. Thank you for praying for us. you have had and will continue to have an impact on my life and walk with Christ.
Dear Grandma, over my life time, but especially over the last ten years you have showed me what it means to trust in God. To put your faith solely in Him. You have battled, battled hard. You have fought, fought harder than anyone I know. You have given me strength to be a better mom, wife and friend and to live life to its fullest. I love you Grandma, more than you will ever know. You are an amazing woman and friend.
I realized while writing this that while Phillip and I interact with people that God brings into our lives our desire is to love them like Christ would love them. Thank you for modeling this for me. My desire is to treat them with respect. to have them feel wanted and loved for who they are. To have them feel important. To show them love by preparing a good meal for them. To listen to them. To not be rushed. To make them a birthday cake and have their birthday be extra special.
All these things and more you did for me.
Thank you.
If you ever need anything, please call. You have always been here for us and we will do the same for you.
Love,
Missy
This is from my mom's blog:
1-18-2012
Dear family,
Just wanted to let you know that Wednesday morning January 18, 2012 at about 7:10 a.m. Denny’s mom,Anabel Johnson, breathed her last breath. Mandy got to the farm Monday night about 9 pm and stayed with her grandparents that night. Tuesday Anabel was pretty restless and very weak. She was so tired. She has battled cancer since 2002 (before Matt’s wedding). November 22 they determined that the treatments were not doing any good, so she would stop taking chemo. It was her desire to be at home at this time if possible. She had said when it was her time to die, she hoped she would just to go to sleep and not wake up. Mandy spent Tuesday night lying on the floor next to Anabel’s bed, as Anabel had another restless night. When I came for my routine visit about 7 in this morning, Anabel was resting peacefully but her breathing was infrequent. I talked to Mandy,and told her Mom was not breathing very much. She said she knew. Mandy was on one side of the bed and I was on the other side of Anabel's bed. Anabel didn’t respond when I squeezed her hand and told her I loved her. I said,”I’ll see you soon in heaven. Say Hi to great granny.” We were there for her last breath, though we didn’t realize it because her previous breaths were so far apart. It seems we were on hallowed ground.
Thanks for your thoughts and prayers.
We have been blessed by parents who express Christ’s love in action.
Just wanted to let you know that Wednesday morning January 18, 2012 at about 7:10 a.m. Denny’s mom,Anabel Johnson, breathed her last breath. Mandy got to the farm Monday night about 9 pm and stayed with her grandparents that night. Tuesday Anabel was pretty restless and very weak. She was so tired. She has battled cancer since 2002 (before Matt’s wedding). November 22 they determined that the treatments were not doing any good, so she would stop taking chemo. It was her desire to be at home at this time if possible. She had said when it was her time to die, she hoped she would just to go to sleep and not wake up. Mandy spent Tuesday night lying on the floor next to Anabel’s bed, as Anabel had another restless night. When I came for my routine visit about 7 in this morning, Anabel was resting peacefully but her breathing was infrequent. I talked to Mandy,and told her Mom was not breathing very much. She said she knew. Mandy was on one side of the bed and I was on the other side of Anabel's bed. Anabel didn’t respond when I squeezed her hand and told her I loved her. I said,”I’ll see you soon in heaven. Say Hi to great granny.” We were there for her last breath, though we didn’t realize it because her previous breaths were so far apart. It seems we were on hallowed ground.
Thanks for your thoughts and prayers.
We have been blessed by parents who express Christ’s love in action.
No comments:
Post a Comment