Dear gram,
It’s been 16 days since you went home to be with Jesus. It feels like yesterday we watched you enter into glory. It also feels like yesterday we got the news you were diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and to think that was almost 10 years ago just blows my mind. Sometimes it scares me when I stop and think about how fast time goes by but if there is one thing I’ve learned from you, it’s to always take advantage of the time you’ve been given. You were great at that. In the days after your passing and at your memorial service we heard so many stories about the countless adventures you went on. Whether it was short camping trips to PA, long trips in the trailer you owned with grandpa, or how you’d spend months out of the year in Australia visiting your family. Whatever the adventure was, you were up for it, because you knew how valuable time was and you weren’t going to waste a single moment of it. The beautiful part of it all is that you didn’t just spend your time taking trips for your own fun. You dedicated so much of your life and time to the work of the Lord and spreading His love to the world. You went on several missions trips to Thailand and Japan and even in your 70s you were out on the missions field blessing others. Even after you left earth you were still desiring to honor God’s work by requesting that people donate to the church’s missions fund instead of sending flowers. I want to live and love like that, gram.
The thing I admire the most about you was your passion for the Lord and for His Word. Aunt Karen shared at your memorial service that every day you would start your morning by reading the Bible. It was the most important part of your day. When your illness reached a point where you no longer knew how to read, you would still sit there with it on your lap just staring at the pages. You couldn’t comprehend what it was saying, but you still knew it was the most important thing in your life. We got the chance to read through some of your prayer journals and I was so inspired by the way you prayed for others and the way you loved the Lord with everything you had.
Gram, thank you for your dedication to this family and your dedication to God. Because of your legacy, all of your kids and grandkids are following in your footsteps. We all love Jesus and desire to see Him made known in the lives of others. Adventure is in our DNA and its amazing to how each of us are using the sense of adventure you have instilled in us to invest in the kingdom in different ways. I will think of you often during the World Race and I commit to making the most out of every single moment because you have taught me that time is a precious thing. Thank you for the life you lived. Thanks for the lessons you taught me. Thanks for being my grandma. I love you.
See you soon,
Cami
