I was just reading my blog from Tuesday, as I said 'good bye' to my sweet mother-in-law. I especially rested on the part where she didn't want a funeral because 'no one would come, anyway'. Boy, would she be surprised! At her graveside service yesterday were her children, grandchildren, her sister, my family, friends, and people from church. If the weather hadn't been so dicey, her friends from Silverton, Oregon, where Mom lived for so many years, would have been there. But we had quite the group and I can just about guarantee you that she would be amazed at the number of people in attendance! Here is the link to her obituary in the newspaper:
http://legacy.com/statesmanjournal/Obituaries.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonID=121570022
The service was so nice. We had about three inches of snow on the ground, which made for an amazingly beautiful backdrop. Mom is buried in a very lovely part of the cemetery with a huge tree nearby, something she would love. Everything went as well as it possibly could.
The part that really stuck out for me was this amazing poem that Erin, Joyce's youngest daughter, wrote. Erin has this wonderful gift of being able to express herself through poetry and other writings, and it was so heartfelt. Once I get the text, I'll post it. It was something she wrote on her way to the cemetery. What a gift!
We had a luncheon at the church afterward and it went well, also. We got a lot of family pictures, which I will also post once I get them. Then we came back here and Jay and his sisters went through a lot of Joyce's stuff. It was fun to hear them reminisce about their childhood, and also things that happened even after they became adults. Joyce tried so hard to make as many positive memories for her family as she could. All she ever wanted was for her children and grandchildren to be happy.
Now we turn our focus to Christmas. It will feel different this year, and I think *we* will feel different this year. The whole purpose of our lives here has been brought to the forefront of our minds this last week. Suddenly Christmas feels like it should: a celebration of the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Hopefully we have a better understanding of His mission here on this earth, His atoning sacrifice, and the promise of eternal life if we will choose to live worthy of that promise. We are grateful to a wise and loving Father in Heaven, who knows us so well, and more importantly, who knows us *individually*. That fact is made especially apparent during times like this, when we need love and comfort while grieving.
I love you all, my dear family and my dear friends. You are the gifts that I have been blessed with, and that's all I ever want at Christmas, or any other time of year, for that matter!
Merry Christmas, everyone!
No comments:
Post a Comment