After the Hurricane

I found this license plate in a Trader Joe's parking lot last November. My grandparents' names were Al and Ruth. Grandma was going through so much at the time... when I saw the license plate, I took it as a comforting sign that Grandpa was still interceding for her from Heaven. I framed the photo for Grandma, my mom, and my aunt Judy, both of whom wept when they saw it. My grandpa really did live all for his Ruth - he was crazy about her. I'm thankful they are together again now.

Grandma was taken home to heaven Friday morning, 13 July, at 6am. I had the night off so I didn't see the angels ;-) but Mom and her sister were there all night and were with Grandma on either side of her when she breathed her last.

The most obvious sign of grace was Grandma's face after she left us. Her emaciated, hollowed-out face transformed back into herself again - everything softened, she smiled, and looked up at whomever it was who came to get her. The expression was really amazing - there was no denying it.

I'll update this post Saturday night. Need to sleep...as I returned home tonight and tried to make sense of my place with pretty much having been gone for a month now, I realized that I feel like I've survived a hurricane over the last week. Not shattering, just overwhelming and exhausting and bewildering. It all happened so fast.

Keep us in your prayers. It's strange and sad for me not to have any grandparents left. I think my mom and her sister feel that way about not having any parents left, which is even harder.

Mom and I were both thinking of Psalm 91 this morning. A happy coincidence.

Christine