A letter to Granny

I've had, on more occasions than I can believe, the unfortunate privilege of saying goodbye to loved ones as their time on this earth grows short. It is both painful and precious. One of the reasons the girls and I traveled to Ohio last month was the possibility that it would be the last time we would be able to visit with my Granny. Battling cancer, treatments were taking quite a toll on her and had to be stopped. Though not my grandmother by blood, she has always been "Granny" to me. Among many other wonderful memories, I'll remember her for the way she sent cards for every occasion, and I sent her a note to let her know how special that was- how special she was. This is what I wrote. It's nothing elaborate or fancy, just short & to the point (I think she would prefer it that way anyway), but I wanted to share it as a tribute to Granny, who passed away this morning.

Dear Granny,
I just wanted to let you know that I am thinking of and praying for you all the time. I can't imagine how hard it is to be limited in where you can go, what you can do, etc. I especially can't imagine facing all that you face right now. So instead of trying to imagine, I pray. For healing, although our God is mysterious in how He heals. Sometimes he works miracles and heals physically- and I am definitely still praying for one of those miracles. But sometimes He heals what is more important to Him- our hearts, our souls, our lives. I pray for that, for you and for those of us who love you. I pray for you to be surrounded with love and laughter and hope and peace. I pray for you to have special moments with special people. I pray you're not in too much pain. And I pray a prayer of thanksgiving for having you in my life- someone to push baby carriages & wear floppy hats, to teach me to swim, to develop a love for cinnamon toast and eggy eggy, to help me pick the perfect pumpkin, and to make me feel special with every card I received in the mail. I am also so thankful and glad that we got to visit with you a few weeks ago. I know it was probably very taxing on your body to come see us for the cookout and party, but I hope it was worth it. I know it was worth our whole long trip just to get to spend time with you! I love you.

Love,
Emily