My grandmother is coming up on her 97th birthday in December but oh God, I am not sure she is going to make it. Up until about four months ago her health was about as good as an old woman’s could be, she could eat anything, walk around, and though her sight and hearing were getting poorer, she still lives in the home she moved to in 1942. She has lots of us family in town to help, so things were okay. But then she began having nausea and back pain, so finally her daughters(my mother and two aunts) insisted she get check out. She went into the hospital, then to the rehab hospital, then to a temporary nursing home facility. She got some beeter and wanted to go home so bad, so she did. Home health care was arranged, and housecleaning arrangements, and her spirits perked up.
But I got a call from my mother tonight that those spirits are going down. She has begun to say “I wish the Lord would take me now” and “it would be nice to just go to sleep and not wake up.” And Mom says she has become very fretful and confused since I last saw her on Halloween evening.
She is almost 97 as I said, the last of her generation. My grandpa is gone, all her sisters and brothers, and sisters and brothers-in law. No one is left who came up with her, so it stands to reason that she is lonely, even with all of us family in town. I will not bregrudge her her desire to go Home to God, and be with all those who have gone before.
But I will miss her so. She has always been there. She has been a constant in my life. I have moved, my parents, have moved, I have changed jobs, churches, etc, but Grandma’s house has always been the same. I was the oldest grandchild and always felt a little special. She supported me in all my dreams, and consoled me when endeavors fell short of them. I love her as much as anyone else in the world. The one best way I can express how I feel about her is this. I have a sweatshirt with a picture that shows a stable, animals, star up above, and so on. A voice is heard from inside that hollers “It’s a girl!” When Grandma saw me wearing it she was concerned about my theology. I tried to explain it was just a joke but she worried. So I don’t wear it around her. She’s the only person I modify my orneryness for. So all I am asking for God, is to please, make it easy for her. In my selfishness I never want her to go, but take her when You feel it is best, spare her, if you will, further sadness or pain.