Rushed Home

Earlier today my Grandma Shirley had a heart attack and went downhill pretty quickly.  This afternoon, she went to Heaven.

Grandma Shirley looks on as Micah John blows out the candles at his 2nd birthday party (2011)

My Grandma Shirley was not a biological grandmother, but she was a part of our family in every sense of the word.  When my mother landed in foster care in her adolescent years, Shirley and her husband Nick became her foster parents and they cared for her in a way my mother had never experienced.  Even after my mother grew up and had a family of her own, Shirley and Nick remained a part of her life.

When Grandpa Nick died, I was too young to have really had a relationship with him, so it didn't affect me very much.  It's different with Grandma Shirley.  I remember bragging to my friends in elementary school that I had an extra grandma, which made me extra special.  Every Christmas, birthday, and special occasion, I could count on Grandma Shirley to be there.  She celebrated with me when my children we born, spoiling them just as heartily as their other grandparents.  In face, the purple Leap Pad 2 she gave them for Christmas is still sitting on my washing machine, waiting for me to get an email from Walmart that they have a green one in stock I can exchange it for.  My boys said the purple one was, "for girls." 

Every parent my mother has ever known is now gone.  She was holding Shirley's hand today as her spirit left her and rushed home.  My heart hurts for her.

Thank you for Shirley, Father in Heaven.  Thank you for bringing her and Grandpa Nick into my mother's life when she needed it the most. I know you have welcomed Grandma Shirley into your Kingdom today and I pray that you would be with my mother and my aunts as they grieve her loss.  Hold them as they hold one another.  Comfort them as they shed tears.  We praise you today Father, for you are good and you are still on the throne.  Help us to turn to you as we mourn.  Amen.