My Grandma

~Posted by Ben (Tribute written to share at the funeral)

Dear Grandma:

Words can hardly express what I am feeling now, or how much I miss you and Grandpa. Life is filled with so many kinds of events, most of which are happy, like birthdays, family reunions, and weddings. But as Ecclesiastes chapter 3 says, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.” It then goes on to say that there is a time to rejoice and a time to weep. Funerals are one of the few bittersweet times in life when rejoicing and mourning are done simultaneously. Mourning over the fact that you will no longer be with us, and rejoicing for the time that we did have with you as well as rejoicing that you and Grandpa get to spend Valentine’s Day together, that you will be together forever with no more weakness, lack of breath or pain.

I have so many wonderful memories of you, Grandma. If I had to choose the one thing that I will miss the most about you, it would be those really loooonnngg conversations you and I used to have. Whether sitting in the living room or on the chairs on the back porch, we used to talk about absolutely everything. Everything from Politics, economics, and history, all the way down to lawn care, landscaping and food. You and I had very similar interests and much in common. We used to talk for hours on end. I missed that the most when you went into the nursing home, because sometimes it was hard for you to talk for lengthy amounts of time. I can’t wait for the day when we can talk for as long as we want about whatever happens to come into our heads, just like old times.

One thing that always fascinated me about you was your seemingly endless knowledge about everything. You always knew what was going on in the world around you. You read the paper, watched the news, and analyzed everything. One life lesson I learned from you was this: wisdom is not something that comes from Ivy League universities, nor is it learned from professors. Although you can achieve textbook knowledge from these sources, there is a great difference between wisdom and knowledge. And although you possessed both, you proved to me that wisdom is not something that you can earn, but is a gift from God. A gift that God gives and gives you more of over the years. Grandma, it is my understanding that because of family finances, you did not go to college. But I never would have known it. You always knew so much from your many years of life and from so much reading. You were truly a very wise woman.

Grandma, I know because of my faith in Jesus Christ, I will see you again. But until that day, I will remember everything I loved about you. Your calm southern demeanor, your wonderful laugh, your love of picking on people. J I love you and miss you very much. I don’t know if I can ask this, but please give Grandpa a great hug for me! I will see both of you someday.

Your loving grandson

Ben