Trip to Canada

Vacation was sweet. Journey to the north was good for everyone. It's been a long time- had to brush up on my Canadian:) It's amazing. It's been only a few days, and I find myself splattering "eh" over everything again. We really enjoyed being with family, and we treasure the moments.

Here's some of my journal entries from the trip:

Isaac came with us to see Grandma at her new place. I followed him down the nursing home hallways to her room. We peeked in. She was sleeping. I looked in again. I've never seen Grandma sleeping in a bed before.

Grandma has always been a busy kind. Always talking to someone or reading, and when she's slept, it was most always in her rocker. We are encouraged to wake her.....We feel the gap of time since we were last here......

Eventually we make our way to the lounge room where there is a piano. We sing. We ask Grandma for a  favorite. She says my "Jesus I Love Thee". I smile. Tis one of my favorites.

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It's our last night of vacation. Dad and I visit Grandma one more time. She's more perky tonight. We sit on her bed and talk. She asks about the twins who have both gone to bed. She particularly is interested in James who Uncle Peter, the cousins, and now she has nicknamed Jimmy.  She says, "He's a nice young lad isn't he?".  She asks about Memere and Pepere.  She points to the picture on the wall and reminds us of our old grandpa.... But what impresses my heart most is her favorite theme: the goodness of God, His faithfulness, His love. She recounts the times He has been there for her.

She reminds us of how her American father died in the US while she was very young leaving her large family in England fatherless. They were poor, but God provided for all their needs. Their teachers at school had no idea how needy they were. Grandma says, "The Lord blessed and they respected us despite how poor we were."

Then Grandma talks about their time in Africa. "The Lord provided everything we put in our mouths. He took care of us. He really did, and He takes care of all His children as they put their trust in Him. We've just got to trust and obey".  She starts repeating the chorus of the old hymn "Trust and Obey". "You know if you're walking with the Lord, you can just walk around wherever you go and talk to the Lord. It's not just a couple of hours here and there.  No, it's everywhere you go." 

"Walking with God"  is no wordy metaphor to Grandma. It's literal. It's apart of her everyday life.

She talks about the privileged of prayer. "We have a Savior who wants us to talk with Him. He does! " My soul thrills as she continues. I love this gospel theme too. It's been Grandma's for many years. I've heard it many time before. Tonight it's fresh. I brush tears from my eyes and stair at the floor. I'm not quite sure why I'm crying.

Dad picks up Grandma's Bible, and asks if she wants Him to read. He turns to John and begins somewhere in the middle.  Grandma repeats the verses by memory as Dad reads.

We pray.

We get Grandma Hugs.

We say good-bye.

She won't let us go without seeing us to the door. She stands and waves until we're out of sight...

There are two things that matter to Grandma: her family and her Lord. Grandma is a prayer warrior. We've heard her story of prayer told by numerous speakers who know nothing else of her. Small details are changed as it's passed on by word of mouth, but the core of the story stays the same. It's of a lady in Lillooet that was used by God through prayer. That's a story with results that have been witnessed. How many more will we learn of in heaven?

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We hope to be able to go visit again soon. We just have to wait until visas and passports and....++ are taken care of. Oh the joys of being foreigners:)