This past week some of our family said, "Goodbye" while others said, "We'll see you later" to a very dear loved one. I so very much wish I could report that every member of our family could have said, "We'll see you later", but as of right now that is not the case.
My husband's beloved grandmother, Granny, went home to be with the Lord. Granny spent 94 1/2 years here. Her life was richly blessed by many, many experiences and with the Lord as her guide, she triumphed through many, many challenges.
Granny grew up in an era very different from ours. She was born and raised on a rural mid-western farm. By the time she was 12 years old she was her mother's right hand. At only 12 she was able to cook, clean, do laundry (by hand), sew, care for children and perform other various farm chores as well as any adult. At the age of 14 she met and, with her father's permission, married her husband of 24 years. He died in an auto accident when she was only 38. At age 16 Granny had a beautiful daughter and at age 18 gave birth to another - these two girls would be her only children.
Granny experienced a vast amount of life. As a young girl transportation consisted of a horse and buggy, at the time of her exit she owned an automobile that would go more than 120 miles per hour. As a child and young adult the toilet consisted of an outhouse several hundred feet away from the main house. At the time of her exit, indoor bathrooms, complete with flushing toilets & hot water supplied showers & whirlpool tubs, were standard in homes. When Granny was a girl airplanes were still being perfected, but by the time she departed us, not only could they fly around the world, some could fly into outer space. As a young woman, business was done with shorthand, manual typewriters and accounting was calculated by the brain with paper and a pencil. By the time she left us, we had computers to do the math and run the businesses. In the era of Granny's youth most folks communicated through the mail system, telegrams, and only the upper folks had party-line telephones. She lived long enough to see fiber optic instant messaging and multiple wireless telephones in the same house! In her youth, the majority of rural residents lived without electricity. In her lifetime she watched more than 99% of our nation connect to the "grid". As a child her family sowed, planted, and reaped a harvest step by step, hand by hand. Today's farms are managed using huge multi-tasking machines that can do a week's worth of manual labor in 1/2 a day.
She grew up during World War I and the roaring twenties; began a family during the Great Depression; lost loved ones and friends during World War II and the Korean War; during the "good ole days" of the 50's she mourned the losses of her husband, her own mother, and a granddaughter; in disbelief she watched the youth of the 60's "turn on and tune out" with illegal drugs. During the 70's she prayed to God while her grandson fought in Vietnam and praised His name when he came home and once again mourned as she lost a great-granddaughter; on her living room television she watched the Berlin wall come down in 1989; and saw personal desktop computers move into more than 70% of all homes in the 1990's and cried a river of tears over the loss of her younger daughter. She ushered in, not only a new century but a new millennium; celebrated with joy the birth of a great-grandchild on her own birthday and then had to mourn the loss of her eldest daughter.
Throughout her lifetime she had relationships with 8 generations of her family. Her life was filled with smiles, tears and amazement. Upon her departure she left her older sister, aged 96, four grandchildren, 8 great-grandchildren, and 3 great, great-grandchildren.
Her older sister once told me that Granny was always an obedient child. Granny said the same about her older sister. Ephesians 6:2-3 (KJV) says, "Honor thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with a promise; that it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long upon the earth." I think Granny was a living testimony to this promise from God.
I'll see her later ...
My husband's beloved grandmother, Granny, went home to be with the Lord. Granny spent 94 1/2 years here. Her life was richly blessed by many, many experiences and with the Lord as her guide, she triumphed through many, many challenges.
Granny grew up in an era very different from ours. She was born and raised on a rural mid-western farm. By the time she was 12 years old she was her mother's right hand. At only 12 she was able to cook, clean, do laundry (by hand), sew, care for children and perform other various farm chores as well as any adult. At the age of 14 she met and, with her father's permission, married her husband of 24 years. He died in an auto accident when she was only 38. At age 16 Granny had a beautiful daughter and at age 18 gave birth to another - these two girls would be her only children.
Granny experienced a vast amount of life. As a young girl transportation consisted of a horse and buggy, at the time of her exit she owned an automobile that would go more than 120 miles per hour. As a child and young adult the toilet consisted of an outhouse several hundred feet away from the main house. At the time of her exit, indoor bathrooms, complete with flushing toilets & hot water supplied showers & whirlpool tubs, were standard in homes. When Granny was a girl airplanes were still being perfected, but by the time she departed us, not only could they fly around the world, some could fly into outer space. As a young woman, business was done with shorthand, manual typewriters and accounting was calculated by the brain with paper and a pencil. By the time she left us, we had computers to do the math and run the businesses. In the era of Granny's youth most folks communicated through the mail system, telegrams, and only the upper folks had party-line telephones. She lived long enough to see fiber optic instant messaging and multiple wireless telephones in the same house! In her youth, the majority of rural residents lived without electricity. In her lifetime she watched more than 99% of our nation connect to the "grid". As a child her family sowed, planted, and reaped a harvest step by step, hand by hand. Today's farms are managed using huge multi-tasking machines that can do a week's worth of manual labor in 1/2 a day.
She grew up during World War I and the roaring twenties; began a family during the Great Depression; lost loved ones and friends during World War II and the Korean War; during the "good ole days" of the 50's she mourned the losses of her husband, her own mother, and a granddaughter; in disbelief she watched the youth of the 60's "turn on and tune out" with illegal drugs. During the 70's she prayed to God while her grandson fought in Vietnam and praised His name when he came home and once again mourned as she lost a great-granddaughter; on her living room television she watched the Berlin wall come down in 1989; and saw personal desktop computers move into more than 70% of all homes in the 1990's and cried a river of tears over the loss of her younger daughter. She ushered in, not only a new century but a new millennium; celebrated with joy the birth of a great-grandchild on her own birthday and then had to mourn the loss of her eldest daughter.
Throughout her lifetime she had relationships with 8 generations of her family. Her life was filled with smiles, tears and amazement. Upon her departure she left her older sister, aged 96, four grandchildren, 8 great-grandchildren, and 3 great, great-grandchildren.
Her older sister once told me that Granny was always an obedient child. Granny said the same about her older sister. Ephesians 6:2-3 (KJV) says, "Honor thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with a promise; that it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long upon the earth." I think Granny was a living testimony to this promise from God.
I'll see her later ...
TB ~ Know that you and the family are in my thoughts and prayers.
ReplyDeleteThank you so very much.
ReplyDeleteMrs. B