A Few Words About Gram

I came across the notes I had written down about Gram as I prepared to say a few words at her funeral this past January.  It was tough to know exactly what to say, because she had been my lifelong mother, and we had shared so much through the years...

"Gram often relayed that she had wanted to be a teacher when she grew up, but God had called her to be a pastor's wife instead.  What impressed me most about Gram was that she truly was the teacher she had always wanted to be, though not in a classroom.

She took me in when I was only eight months old.  She taught me how to read and write, and how to tie my shoes.  She even taught us girls at Boylston Home that we could learn to like our vegetables.  More than the things she sat down to teach us, were the ways that her life helped us to learn lessons.  By her life, she taught us things like courage, loyalty, trust, joy, and contentment.  The most important lesson she taught us by her way of life was  what it meant to love the Lord with all of one's life, heart and soul. She also taught us verses.  She knew that the verses she quoted  to us would remain in our hearts, even when she could no longer be with us.  She taught us to pray, just as she taught us who Jesus was.

Even as she turned 98, she taught me that our spirits are not confined to our earthly bodies.  Gram's spirit would soar to lofty heights in prayer, looking forward to the day when she would see Jesus face to face, even as she was confined to sit in her chair day after day.

Finally, Gram taught me how to let go toward the end as she would often speak with her eyes closed and her heart open.  She spoke often of heaven.  She talked of reunions.  She taught me to hope for the day when we would be together again.

Though Gram was a very dear pastor's wife, she was the best teacher I ever had, and I will miss her terribly.  May her lessons stay with us all as we continue forward in our own journeys."