Monday, October 1, 2012

Four Generations

Two weeks ago my dad sent me an email saying my grandmother's health (mom's mom) had gotten much worse. On top of cancer and myositis, she came down with pneumonia. It was the kind where when you swallow, the food goes into your lungs. 

We were driving to Guatemala City anyway in order to sign some paperwork. If we all flew out of there it was pretty cheap for us to fly into Fort Lauderdale. When we booked our flights we didn't think we were going to make it back in time to even say goodbye. 
{4 generations}

My grandma has always been a very strong person and by that I mean the person she is inside. She went up and down during the 10 days we were there. Some days she felt good enough that we really got to spend some quality time with her. She acquired another type of pneumonia and a rare form of bacteria before we left, but she is still fighting. My mom is daily by her side seeing that she gets the best care possible. She is such a good daughter! I hope my kids love me one day as much as my parents loved their parents.  

Family issues are always a tough call when you are a missionary living outside of the country. God gave me 2 godly grandmothers who invested a lot in me. Who they were is part of who I am because of that investment. I think this woman deserves to have as much love and support around her as possible while she is finishing out her years. On top of that God gave me pretty spectacular parents and to those parents He gave one child and Jimmy does whatever it takes to get me to them when they are going through something so painful as this. He loves my family too.
  Each morning I would take the boys to visit "Grandma Nita". Some days I thought she wasn't up to it, but she wanted them in there anyways! 

Jonah and Silas would sing to her, blow kisses, and tell her crazy stories from their day.
Eden went every time I went because she is a LOT quieter than the boys!

While we were there me and my mom went to my grandma's house to pick up some photos and things to cheer up her now permanent room/home. There were so many memories mixed with the familiar smell of my grandma's house. I want to keep it all... all of those memories...  saved in a special part of my soul where they won't fade over time. It made me sad. 
{At my Grandma's house a couple years ago} 
I heard the sound of her heavy front door running over the door jam as it closed for the last time. I'm just not ready for all this. I know it is a normal part of everyone's life, but I hate it. I feel like when we left for the field we went into some kind of time warp. Where even though life continued without us, nothing was supposed to change because we weren't there to experience it. 

I have lots more photos from our time with my parents that I will eventually post. I love them so much. I know this doesn't have anything to do with missions, but please pray for my family when you think of it. 

My grandmother told me several times that she was glad I was there. Even during the times she was kind of out it because of an infection or medication she called out my name for comfort to see if I was still there in the room with her. I am so thankful for the time God gave us together. My grandma knows that she is loved. No regrets here! 

2 comments:

  1. Shelley, this is so precious! Praying for you. You are so right about valuing family. Your kids will love you like that cause they'll see you loving and caring for your folks. Praying for Him to bless y'all even more!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm so sorry to hear this Shelley but happy that you were/are able to be there and you shouldn't feel guilty for it.Praying for you all!

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...