Oma

It was nine years ago that Oma went to grandparents day at school and visited many of her 29 grandchildren. She caught up with friends and watched her grandchildren perform- it was just a wonderful day for the grandchildren and all of the grandparents. That night, Oma, who was in good health, died in her sleep. When we received the phone call early in the morning that our Oma died, it sent the whole family reeling in shock and disbelief. Friends and family could not believe that they had just seen her at grandparents day and everything was fine. You see, Oma was no ordinary woman. She was loved by everyone. Her home was wide open to all that came by. She had everyone over and you always felt so welcomed. She kept conversations going and told hilarious stories. She never lost an opportunity to play a good joke on someone and then would laugh until the tears came streaming down her cheeks. She reached out to those who were going through hard times; baked and cooked oodles of food for those who visited her and those who needed some cheering up. She was just so well loved by all of us that when she died, our lives were shaken to the core. Each one of the grandchildren thought that they were her "special one". That just shows you that she took great interest in each person and had the gift of making everyone that she met, feel special. Riches and treasures did not mean much to her, she lived simple; but she loved her plants and came home with a car full of bedding plants every spring.
Every spring, my thoughts often go to Oma and everything that I learned from her life and her death.
I learned that death can be so unexpected. This life has been given to us to prepare for eternity and we need to PREPARE. So often we coast along down life's road, praying more when hard times come, and then coast along again. We need to work hard at rooting out bitterness, working out grievances, loving the unlovable, being disciplined with our time and money. God has loved us when we were unlovable, we were bought, redeemed, forgiven, given new life through His Son! We have HOPE!
When Oma died she left behind a legacy of a Godly woman who invested her time in people's lives. Her life showed grace, gratitude, and generosity. She spoke the truth and worked hard to do what was right. The memories of her are endless. How many times did the grandchildren have sleepovers? How many grandchildren used her car to get their drivers license so that they wouldn't have to drive the big family van and try to parallel park it (!)
After Oma died, the grandchildren each wrote out a page of memories and we made it into a booklet. That book has become a treasure, resurrecting memories of the past, and sharing memories with the next generation.



 

This picture of Oma was taken on grandparents day visiting Alysha. What a blessing it was that she was able to visit with so many people and see her grandkids before she passed away.  Often we would say "if only we were able to say good-bye to her" but now looking back, that would of been heart-breaking for us and for her. Oma did not have to go through pain and suffer and we have so much comfort knowing that she belonged to the Lord. This is such blessing to all of those who are mourning the loss of their loved ones.