It was her birthday, and it was Sunday, and because they had asked her, as the resident octogenarian, to recite some Scripture, she stood by her pew and quoted from Job, or was it the Psalms? The top of her head was only about 5 feet from the floor, but the words that her mouth spoke rose beyond the ceiling and triumphantly proclaimed the majesty and glory of our God. This little, old lady was speaking the words that triumph over kingdoms. The Word of the Lord endures forever. She spent her life being healthy, "striding right out" on her regular walks around the farm, but more importantly, ingesting countless verses of Scripture. And boy did she pray. Even as her mind began to go a few years ago, I can still recall sitting in the women's Sunday School class at Hart FBC as my Great Grandma Gilliland, who moments early had been dozing in her seat, rose up to her full spiritual stature in Christ and prayed with great passion and power and extreme lucidity. Her earnest, genuine and intimate prayer rivaled all others I have heard. I was amazed. Here she was, already over 100, her mind failing fast, I couldn't even be sure if she honestly knew who I was, and yet, when she came before her God, she was always new again. Even as her mind reverted back to her childhood years and her memory forgot us all, she still knew her Savior. And He still knows her. My grandma went home on Tuesday. She was 104 and a mere shadow of the woman who served faithfully as a poll worker, regular Farm Bureau speaker, long time church secretary, and godly Sunday School teacher (I have been present when unknown women have nearly cried when remembering "Mrs. Gilliland, who taught their sunday school class _ years ago"). While I have known my great grandma my whole life, I don't have many memories of personal conversations with her, before she began to be forgetful (and then it was mostly comments on how tall I was getting), though I'm sure they took place. What I do remember is a pillar of godliness- the unspoken understanding that Great Grandma was always praying, always cheering us on in the faith. I can't wait to have more conversations with her. There are many things I would like to know about her life and her faith and there are many things I would like to talk about, like teaching Sunday school, or writing poetryd or what she thought of all those books on her shelves. Today grandma is better than she has ever been. I believe it was CS Lewis who remarked that those of us who do not worship often and genuinley here on earth will find Heaven utterly unfamiliar and the transition difficult. I am quite sure that grandma's transition was seamless, that her heart was merely able, for the first time, to give full voice to the song she has always been singing. "Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe, all to Him, my blessed Savior."
Tomorrow, I will go home to Michigan to be with my family for her funeral, which will be hard, but to be honest, I am looking forward to it. I am excited to celebrate the beginning of my Grandma's life and to remind myself that this life is only that, the beginning of life. God has used several things this week to remind me of that. How I easily I get off track, how quickly my first love becomes humdrum. Grandma has left us all with a remarkable legacy, her diligence in prayer and Bible study, witnessing and Scripture memorization, teaching and praise, have served as a gentle reminder of where my heart ought to lie. Please pray for me, that I too would grow to be more like our Savior, that my truest identity would always be found in His presence and my greatest and most vivid thoughts and joys when I am with Him. Please pray for those officiating, and for those of us in attendance. Pray for my family members that don't know Jesus, or have walked away.
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