Saying Goodbye

My grandmother passed away February 1, 2011.  My parents got the call that she was dying on a Monday night and raced there way out to West Texas to be with her when she passed.  They were also racing against a winter storm that was blowing in.  In the end they were unable to make it and had to stop in Abilene.  They were stuck there until Friday morning.

The rest of us here at home were desperately trying to find a way to get to Odessa to be at her funeral.  This is all taking place during our rare Texas ice/ snowpocalypse of 2011.  My sister and her family tried to set out on a route that would take them further south but to no avail.  They had to turn around and come home.  My husband's employer would not give him the time off to go with me, not that we could have made it by car anyway, so I booked a ticket to fly.

The snow came by Thursday night and my Friday flight was canceled.  I did not get to go to her funeral and neither did my sister.  The good news is that my parents did get out of Abilene on Friday and will make it to her funeral on Saturday. 

It is very hard to understand how the Lord was working in this situation.  Why did choose to take her when he did?  When he knew we would not be able to get to her to say goodbye.  I don't know but God is good and he made a way for my mom to get to the funeral to say goodbye.  We know it's just her body, Jesus is gone from her.  He has taken her home.  We spend our lifetimes here on earth practicing what we will be doing forever in heaven...worshiping Him.  She will spend eternity worshiping her Saviour and gazing upon His beauty.  She is also with her beloved husband.

May His eternal light shine upon her.

Amen

Psalm 27:4-5

One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple. For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock

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Guess what, that's not the end of the story.  As I finished writing the the above post the sun came out and the snow was melting.  My sister called and said she and her husband were going to try one more time by car to get there.  Well since God sent the snow that morning schools were closed.  One of my two sweet sister-in-laws, Joy was able to watch my kids on last minute notice.  My mother-in-law was going to watch them the next morning.  Had he not sent the snow Joy would have been working that day and I would have had no one to watch them so I could leave with my sister.  We hit the road and aside from the slightly icy conditions in Abilene it was a smooth ride.  We did not tell my parents we were coming, partly because we thought we would have to turn around and come home and partly not to give them heart attacks!  We rode into town only to discover that there were no vacancies in the local hotels.  Oi vey...what now.  Well again God made a way.  I had called all the hotels in the area and no one had room.  We finally fessed up to our parents that we were there, thinking we may have to sleep on the floor in their room.  It took some convincing before my mom could believe it.  We headed over to their hotel and my mom tried to get a roll away bed to add to their room.  It was a no go, fire hazard.  The sweet lady at the front desk called a hotel competitor in town and was able to snag us the last room!  His ways are unsearchable but he knows our every need.

We were able to lay her to rest and say our goodbyes as a family.  Celebrating the life of a sweet lady who replaced her old rugged cross for a crown.