In March my grandfather passed away. While emotionally trying, I have to admit, the frequent and blatant God Moments assisted the grieving process in a way that made the entire time, dare I say it – pleasant. KNOWING that my grandfather was with God and the rest of my family; my mom, my aunt, my grandmother… filled me with such joy that any tears I shed were more for the fact that I wouldn’t get to talk to him again, and not for regret or sadness. The following are just SOME of the many, many God Moments I experienced last month.
“KNOWING that my grandfather was with God”
The most important moment to share was on the moment of his passing. The story is long, but I will make it brief. Grandpa was smart, genius smart, and thus, couldn’t believe in a “magical” entity. However, I believed in my heart and soul that MY God wouldn’t turn away from one of His OWN Creations. A creation that HE designed with the human flaw of an inability to believe in fantasy. I KNEW that Jesus would come to my grandfather in his last moments, as his soul was leaving his human body, and say “Take my hand” – and HE DID. Less than three minutes before my grandfather took his final breath, without any cause or reason, without the energy to move or stretch or communicate, he reached for the sky with the only arm he was still able to move and accepted Jesus’ hand. It wasn’t until he was gone, and had been for quite a while, that it occurred to me what that last movement was for and I sobbed like a happy baby.
“Take My Hand”
The next God Moment were a few tear-filled laughs. Grandpa was not only still here watching over me, but he was able to manipulate things to send messages. Two examples of this are as follows. Not believing in ‘magic’ grandpa refused to ever open a fortune cookie, even for the fun of it. He knew I enjoyed it though, so at dinner a few nights later, I paused, spoke to Grandpa with my heart as I stared at the fortune cookies on the table, and I said “I know you thought it was ridiculous before, but I wonder what my cookie is going to say tonight.” I exhaled deeply, opened my cookie, and read “You will be receiving an inheritance…” Straight forward, no beating around the bush, no wishy-washy fortune-teller phrases. That was Grandpa telling it like it is.
The other example was another night at dinner. Trailing away from the conversations to escape into my mind and wonder about my grandfather’s final days. When he had first had his stroke, and KNEW his time was limited, all he wanted to do was have the hospice nurses take him to his computer so he could write me an email – something he couldn’t do. I began to wonder what he would have written if he could have, what it was he hadn’t had the chance to say… It was at that moment that a song came on over the restaurants speakers; Stix: Babe I’m leaving. He wanted to tell me in his own words, and since he couldn’t, he found someone who could. Don’t remember the song? Listen to it here…
There were so many more moments. From my mother’s clock stopping, to a tree falling, to the music stopping in his home, to the being with family for my birthday, to getting my husband on a plane before the blizzard hit, to the rabbit staring at me, to the wonderful people on Craigslist, to things working out, to the timing being perfect, to having just enough to take care of it all… God works in mysterious ways. God is working through everything around us, ALL of the time. God’s plan is so simple and yet so profound. He is always here, always watching over us, always helping us with every step that we take – and if we can see it, if we can thank him, more and more blessings can be seen happening.
God Works THROUGH Us!
So this Easter, take heart in knowing that no matter what is going on in your life, no matter the hurt or trials, or family squabbles, or lost Easter eggs… God is ALL around us, watching over us, teaching us, helping us and Loving us.
Amen!
Amen sista
Blessed Easter!
I’ve always liked that song.
Beautiful words!
Loving how beautifully you express this, my precious! Wishing you a joyous Easter!
Love you so much!
Loving how beautifully you express this, my precious! Wishing you a joyous Easter!
Love you so much!