With Jesus

I would like to introduce you to my Grandma. Her name is Nellie Mae Hubble. She is turning 82 next month.

This picture is from our family reunion a few weeks ago. I made these posters filled with pictures with my Grandma in mind. You see, when any of us think about Grandma, the first thing that comes to mind is how much she loves pictures. She loves capturing happy moments with the people she cares about and reliving those times again and again.

Grandma has been losing her memory for a few years now. She has difficulty remembering recent events, and a very hard time remembering what was said two minutes ago. That made me really sad at first, because I've been pretty close to my Grandma and I missed our long talks. Then I pulled out these pictures. She pointed to picture after picture and we relived the stories. She told me about her best friend Bobbi in high school. She told me about what she thought of her handsome young soldier when she met Grandpa. (He interjected that he missed how it felt to BE a handsome young soldier.) She told me that her father-in-law was the nicest person you could ever meet. She told me stories about my mom and her sister when they were babies. She remembered the years when her nine grandchildren were growing up, wreaking havoc all over her house and property. (I remember those too, very fondly!)

I realized that just because my beautiful little Grandma has lost her short term memory doesn't mean that there's no longer any way to communicate with her. Even if it becomes hazy who I am, she'll still remember me. She might talk about me as if I weren't there, but just the fact that she talks about me in her stories lets me know that she loves me. That she is proud of me.

I must say that it pains me quite a bit to think about losing my granny. I think next to my mom she is the second most important female influence in my life. I have some of her in me, too. I'm stubborn, sometimes to the point of being ridiculous. I'm sentimental. I take so many pictures I could probably make a film of the last 3 or 4 years of my life from them. I treasure those pictures too, just like Grandma. I think when I'm 82, should the Lord tarry, and my granddaughter makes me a poster filled with memories, I'll cry, just like my grandma.

I'm also pretty envious of my grandparents. They've lived a life well. They've learned from mistakes, they've risen over hurdles, and they've arrived to see that their descendants are following Jesus. That has to be a relief. And when I think of how close they are to seeing His face, I almost can't breathe. My little Grandma, who taught me how to play Scrabble like a pro and yelled at me when I watched too much TV and snuck away from me and my sister in the store and hid in the clothes racks until we found her... my Grandma is going to see Jesus. Going to look into His eyes. Going to hold His hands with the same hands she holds mine! My big strong Grandpa who let me ride his mower in the field and taught me to play basketball and let me stick my head out of the window in the car and videotaped every idiotic idea I came up with for a play or a concert... my grandpa is going to embrace the Lord he decided to follow so many years ago. And Jesus is going to make my grandpa feel like a handsome young soldier again.

It's bringing tears to my eyes to imagine it. Then another thought comes to mind. I am going to spend eternity with my grandparents, seeing them in their youth and vigor, seeing them in their spunky and spontaneous personalities. God is going to make them whole forever. Grandpa won't have prostate cancer and only be able to dream of playing tennis and basketball. Grandma won't have to take strong memory medication and strain to recall the most simple things. I won't ever have to see them stumble across the floor with a walker or a cane again.

They will be 100% new.

That's the power of the cross. Sin and death thought they won. In the light of eternity, because of Jesus, we'll be laughing in the face of death forever. Sin will be a distant memory.

And we will be with Jesus.