I’ve been wanting to honor my grandmother, Kate Washburn, who went to be with the Lord on October 18th, with some words worthy of her.  In this season of Thanksgiving, I am deeply thankful for all she meant to me, so I’ll try to do her justice!  I just wish every one of you could have known her and experienced her wit and wisdom, her ready smile and her strong faith.  For those of us who are soon to join her in heaven (it will certainly seem soon, I’m sure), we will get to hear the stories and share our own. And for those of us who were close to her on this earth, it will be one big celebration to see her dancing instead of hanging on to something just to walk!

My grandmother may have been 96, but she never lost the joy of living, and except for some medication-caused fuzziness, she kept her mind too!  Her one-liners were famous, and I’m sure her sense of humor was one quality that helped her overcome the hard stuff of life.  She was a devoted wife and after caring for my grandfather at the end of his life 9 years ago, she moved in with my parents only 15 minutes away from us. One of her favorite, private moments each evening was reading one of 575 love letters my grandfather had written her that she kept in a few boxes. As her eyesight failed in the last few years, she let my mom read them to her…and then even allowed our family to read them in the last few weeks of her life.  My grandparents’ love story puts The Notebook to shame (and you guys out there, start writing those letters!)

I owe a huge debt to both of my grandparents, for putting their love for me in action. Fortunately for us, they lived only a few miles away as my brother and I were growing up. That meant lots of visits, meals and playing in their huge back yard, complete with a bridge over a creek – truly a kid’s paradise! When our family went through the pain of divorce, they jumped in and helped even more than usual.  We not only learned about God’s love from them, we also experienced it. They truly put feet to their faith and my brother and I tagged along – many times – as they served our church, neighbors and anyone in need.

And then there were all the family gatherings – Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners at their home, annual vacations to the North Carolina mountains to visit family, weeks at the Baptist assembly grounds in N.C. and New Mexico and even some memorable beach trips with our kids and cousins.  My life story is rich with memories of my grandmother starring in many scenes.

To summarize, if such a life can be condensed into mere words, my grandmother (“Nanny” to her 6 grandchildren, 17 great-grandchildren and 4 great-great grandchildren) fought the good fight and finished the course.  She not only lived a life that honored the Lord, she “went home well.” This woman that I knew as a student of the Bible and prayer warrior, even in her 90’s, took her last breath here on earth, only to take her next one looking Jesus in the face.  How fitting that her last words were, “I’m happy.”  My prayer for every one of you is that you know as certainly as she did, that your salvation is real, your future secure, and your Savior waiting! Right now, with all she is knowing and experiencing in the presence of her Lord, she would most definitely want to ask you, “Are you sure?”