A Eulogy for my Grandmother

Growing up people often said that I was just like my grandmother. I hated it. Not that I didn't like her, but that they were usually referring to my being stubborn. A trait that she and I DEFINATELY shared. Looking through some of her old papers and things in the last few days I came to understand how deep that resemblance went. I found a letter in response to one she had written to someone in the House of Commons regarding the National Debt. I smiled as I thought back to my recent correspondence with various levels of government regarding Independent Energy brokers. I found a 'letter to the Editor' that she had submitted regarding some terrible injustice in the world at the time - and thought about the comment to a recent CBC story that I submitted. So I discovered that not only were we both stubborn but EVERYONE was entitled, and would thus receive our opinion. What other traits, if any did I glean from her?

My grandmother loved animals. Whether it was faithfully feeding the birds (carefully adding bacon grease in the winter), cared for a stray dog - or cat, or religiously carrying her old dog Rosey around when she was so riddled with arthritis she couldn't walk.

My grandmother loved people. She loved her family. I saw her serve my grandfather - providing the meals, doing the laundry - the traditional acts of service for a wife. I remember her caring for him when he was sick. It was beautiful to watch her love and strength in action. She LOVED my father. Her only son. Her treasured gift from God. Her eyes would light up whenever he entered the room. She loved my Mom. Who she referred to as ‘the daughter she never had’. Although she would often chide my Mom for worrying about her too much - you could see the love and gratitude in her eyes. As her grandchildren we all knew that Grandma loved us, each in our own ways for who we were. Her great-grandchildren were an endless source of joy for her. It wasn't that long ago that I brought Jordan to meet her for the first time. Even then - when we weren't even sure if she knew WE were there - having her newest great-grandson in her arms made her smile. No, made her beam! She loved strangers. Donating time, money, energy, whatever it took to help those more in need than herself...

My grandmother loved Christ. She strived to make him the centre of her day and the centre of her life. She believed that the world would be a better place if more people would do the same. I remember her teaching me the Lord's Prayer at the kitchen table, and I remember her encouraging me to 'love them like Christ does' when I would come to her teary eyed about being teased at school.

When you are young, all these stories and experiences drift by you like fall leaves on a breezy day. Little pieces of life being scattered in the wind. You don't look at, or appreciate the importance of them when you are experiencing the reckless abandon of youth. Now as a wife and mother of three I realize how fleeting those moments are - you realize that rather than some grand enormous occasion, it is the culmination of those little moments that make a legacy. Today and in the weeks following we need to sort through those pieces that Grandma left behind and decide what we are going to hang onto as her legacy to us.

For myself I want her dedication to Christ, and her dedication to her family to inspire me in my life. I pray today that God will place reminders of her in my path to keep me focused in following her footsteps in these things. I thank him for the woman he created when he made her, and I thank him for his love that shone through her and touched each of us.