Friday, January 25, 2013

Grace's Heaven Perspective

My beloved Nana passed away last Saturday at the age of 85. She was such an amazing woman, but she had a tough road in life. In her final days, Grace and I had a conversation during her evening prayers that I will never forget.

Heaven from the Heart of Grace

Me: We need to say an extra special prayer for my Nana. She's very sick and will be going to Heaven soon.

Grace: (quietly thinks about this for a moment) Did you know that she'll be young again when she gets to Heaven?

Me: Yes, sweetie. That makes me feel better. My Nana has been sick for a long time.

Grace: She'll be in Heaven with God, right?

Me: Yes, she'll be in Heaven with God...and Jesus and all of our family and friends who have died.

Grace: Everyone in Heaven becomes an angel. They have wings and everything.

Me: Really? What else do you know about Heaven?

Grace: People are happy there.

Me: Yes, they are. It's a wonderful place.

Grace: Does your Nana go with your Pop-Pop who died?

Me: Yes, she does, hon. My Pop-Pop died a year and a half ago, and he's in Heaven too.

Grace: (sweetly and excitedly) I bet they'll be so happy to see each other.

Me: Yes, they will.

I've replayed that conversation in my head many times over the last week and a half. Grace's innocent words brought comfort not only to me, but to many members of our family as we came together to celebrate Nana's life.

Isn't it amazing what we can learn from our kids? They teach me lessons everyday. This one was particularly powerful.

I love my Amazing Grace!

During my Nana's funeral, Amazing Grace was played as the opening hymn. I smiled as I thought of my sweet girl and what a blessing she is to me, in the same way my Nana's 7 kids were incredible blessings to her throughout her life, especially in her final days as they lovingly cared for her, as she had cared for them.

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