My Grandmother/My Sister

A week ago I went to visit my grandmother who lives in a nursing home. She turned 99 this past May! She still gets around by herself in her wheelchair, albeit rather slowly. But her hearing has been gone for sometime and her sight is severely diminished. So when I visit, I always give her a kiss on the cheek and run my hand across her hair to let her know it's me. Her voice is weak and cracked. She still loves to talk, but her thoughts are disconnected and at times very foggy. That's perfectly fine, because so are mine and I have no excuse!
When I have to leave her, it's hard, because she does not want me to go. And I know that each time I leave, could be my last visit. If she were to pass away before my next visit, how would I feel? I can tell you....elated! Not because she died, but because she lives! Her eternal life is placed securely in Christ! So when she takes her final breath on this side, her next breath will be in Heaven! She'll have perfect vision and hearing! And she'll be experiencing the most blissful time with her Savior! She had told me the story of how she came to salvation in Christ many times. During one of those times a few years ago, she asked me to recount her salvation story at her funeral. She also asked me to take a pen and paper and take notes, as she recounted memories of her life here on earth. She then asked me to give a eulogy of that life at her funeral . I was surprised by her request, but it didn't take me a moment to accept the privilege! Each week, I'd visit and she'd recount wonderful times that transpired in her nearly 100 years on earth. One day as I visited, she was feeling rather weary and just wanted to go home. She asked me, "Nancy, why is the Lord keeping me here? I can barely hear, I can barely see. I can't do anything but sit in this chair and watch the days go by. I wonder what His purpose for it is ?" I took her hand and rubbed her arm, and answered, "Grandma, maybe he's leaving you here on earth for a while longer, because you are such an inspiration to me!"
She smiled and replied, " I never thought of that!"