Hold My Hand

“The Lord is my shepherd , I shall not be in want. 

  He makes me lie down in green pastures, 

he leads me beside quiet waters, 

  he restores my soul. 

He guides me in paths of righteousness

  for his names sake. 

Even though I walk 

  through the valley of the shadow of death, 

I will fear no evil,

  for you are with me;

your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me

   in the presence of my enemies, 

You anoint my head with oil;

  my cup overflows. 

Surely goodness and love will follow me 

  all the days of my life,

and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”   Psalm 23

Today, my grandmother is in the final stages of leaving this world.  Her physical body is fading.  She will shortly face death in her worldly body, conquer death through Christ, and begin her true life with Him.  The end of Ecclesiastes 7:2 says, “ . . . for death is the destiny of every man; the living should take this to heart.”  If you have ever traveled this journey with someone, it is easy to ponder our “destiny” and to realize that our life with Him or without Him is only a heartbeat away.  In the process of losing my grandfather last March and then shortly after that finding out that  my grandmother had Goodpastures Syndrome (a one in a million autoimmune disorder that attacks the lung and kidneys), I have been reminded of the brevity of life and God’s sovereignty over life, and that life and death is out of our control.  I was reminded and challenged by Psalm 139:15,16, “My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place.  When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body.  All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”  I am overwhelmed that each day of life has been ordained by God.  Do I treat each day as if it is a day that has been ordained? Can I say this “ordained” day was not wasted?  I have to admit that when Arabella wakes me at 5:30 wanting breakfast, and Addy and Adoniram fuss with each other all day, and I have loads of laundry to finish, meals to prepare, and dishes to clean, I rarely remember this is a precious day ordained of God.  Sometimes in the routine I forget to give my day back to Him.  I am so grateful for a loving grandmother who invested her ordained days in an impatient and hyper little grandchild.  She taught me about God, about His creation, about making homemade cookies, and about loving and serving family.      

I have had the blessing of many precious days with two great grandparents and now I am having the privilege, along with family and friends,  of comforting my grandmother during this transition into Heaven.  I’ve been telling Adoniram that Granmommy needs to be loved on, so each morning he will say, “Wanna go see ganmommy”, so we walk in her room give her kisses on the forehead and pat her on her hand.  A few days ago, I told Adoniram to give her a high - five and she held her hand up for him.  Even though she is too weak to speak to us; she follows us with her eyes and when we hold her hand she pats and rubs on our hand as if to comfort us as well.  My prayer is that she will know His peace and our love as we hold her hand until God takes her hand.  I am so thankful for the hope that Psalm 23 gives us.  It reminds us that the Good Shepherd will lead, restore, guide, comfort, prepare, and anoint my grandmother during this time.  He truly is a good God and He will soon lovingly welcome her home and give her a new body.   And don’t you know my grandfather will be ecstatic to see her!!!! Praise be to the Father for the gift and hope of eternity!!!