Leaving a Legacy

As some of you may have heard, this past week my 95-year-old grandmother went home to be with the Lord. Affectionately known as Gigi toward the end of her life, due to her being a great-greatmother to 10 (almost 11) kids, she was an amazing woman, whose faith in Christ left an indescribable legacy to those who knew her.

Growing up in Michigan, she met my grandfather at a church youth gathering at 18, and married him four years later. They were married for almost 60 years when my grandpa past away in 1996. And their marriage was filled with life, laughter and a love for Jesus that oozed from them. 

Grandma and Grandpa at my folks college graduation

My most beloved memory of my grandparents, was walking into their home to find Bibles next to each of their chairs, along with a list of pray requests. Never could I have imagined that my name would have made the list. But they took time each and every day to pray for every individual in our family, in addition to the people they interacted with on a day-to-day basis. What prayer warriors! 

As they got older, their ministry with Youth For Christ and their local church, moved to within their nursing home walls, as they lead the chapel services on Sunday mornings. Even after Grandpa was gone, Grandma's love for the Lord was evident as she continued to lead the chapel each Sunday without Grandpa.

But it wasn't just her love for Jesus that leaves an imprint on my family. But the humor and quick whit that she had - even up to the end. A little over a year and a half ago, Hubby and I had the pleasure to visit her and capture video of her talking about her life. Here she was, 93+ years old and though her body was failing, her mind was quick as a whip. Yes, we had to remind her that she was the last of her siblings that was living, but her response was classic -  "Well then good! There's no one left to boss me around!" You gotta love that woman. 

Three generations - There's no family resemblance, is there?

During that same visit, her personality spilled onto video as she stuck her tongue out at the camera once she realized we were videotaping her. Am I going to be this spunky and fun when I'm 90 years old? I hope so!

So here's to my grandmother. A woman with humor. A woman of character. And a woman of God. I am so thankful to know that she's home with the Lord (and with grandpa) and pray that I'll be able to leave on this earth even of small portion of the legacy that she left for me.