The story:
The evening of Friday, October 18th, I was on my way home from picking up Caleb. He had been working in the field with Josh and realizing he was going to be working later than what Caleb needed to be out, Josh requested that I pick Caleb up and bring him home. We were just about home, coming around Billy's curve. Billy (aka Bill aka William) Arnold was our neighbor who lived on the curve just west of our house and passed away a couple years back. His son and grandson now farm the place, but it will probably always be known to us as "Billy's curve". (Just like our field across the road from their farm will always be known as "across from Billy's. And Elmer and Elizabeth's farm will always be known as "Grandpa's. Traditions tend to remain the same despite change of times.) It was dusk. The kids were chattering away in the back seat. All was well.
And then I received the vision. It's not the first vision I've had (but the first one I've shared publicly) and I hope it won't be the last. Nor was it the most dramatic, life changing vision I've experienced. But they all are from God, as real as anything here in this physical world. I can't explain it, but it is real and it is true.
The vision:
I saw Grandma Elizabeth walking hand and hand with Grandpa Elmer. Not the hand and hand that old lovers get comfortable with. You know, just holding hands out of habit and comfort. No, they had their arms intertwined, leaning on each other, enjoying their time. Clearly totally in love like new lovers are. And they were young. Not teenagers, but young and healthy. Walking upright and enjoying each other's company. Smiling and talking with one another, just like something you'd see on a movie of two people greeting each other after not seeing each other for a lengthy time. Getting reacquainted. Totally absorbed in each other's company. There was no background, but everything was white. Pure white light. And along with the image of Grandma and Grandpa walking came the reassuring phrase "They are going to be together. Everything will be all right."
And just like that, in the blink of an eye, it was over. But the experience remains forever etched in my memory. You see, Grandpa Elmer passed away in January. And Grandma had just been taken to the hospital a couple of days before with a urinary tract infection. But Grandma was fine: the doctors had given her a positive report with nothing else wrong except being weak, and was just waiting for her strength to return for her to be able to be dismissed. When Loren and Rhonda visited her, she waved them down from the hallway, was giving one-liners, had her sense of humor and was complaining of being bored and couldn't wait to get home. Since she was doing so well, I didn't think anything of what I visioned.
Early Sunday morning, we got a call letting us know that Grandma Elizabeth had passed away. Then I knew what I had been shown. Immediately I knew exactly what she was doing! She was hand and hand with Grandpa. In pure youthfulness experiencing everything Heaven has to offer. In the glory of God's holiness, they could hear each other again, talk with each other again, walk with each other again. Do things that both of their nine decades old lives had slowly robbed them of. The deep intimate love that 64 years of marriage had evolved between husband and wife had been briefly interrupted for nine and a half months, but they were once again back together... and everything was all right. They were once again enjoying each other's company as they once had, with the 64 years to only make it stronger.
Grandma Elizabeth was very special to me. Even though she wasn't my "real" grandma, she was the closest thing to a grandma I ever had. I know my parent's parents were great people, but I never knew them as grandparents. When I married Josh, Grandma and Grandpa was literally a mile up the road from us. We'd visit whenever I was on their yard with Josh. We'd share recipes and chat about family. Oh, did we chat about family: annoyances, pet peeves and joys. She'd tell stories. A few times we even walked together. Grandma walked up and down the road even into her 90's. She was determined to stay healthy and fit! She had spots marked on the road that had been measured so she would know her distance - just little pits and holes in the pavement. She would challenge me to find the marks, and then laugh at me when I missed them everytime. Then when the great grandkids came along, there was a whole new adventure to enjoy. She could not wait to get a cookie into Caleb's hands! The kid was barely a few months old when she was offering him coffeetime cookies! And I, totally thrilled that Caleb had a great grandma and willing to do just about anything to please her, would pick off the tiniest of crumbs to give Caleb (who was still nursing at the time the cookies first got brought out!).
Often times when Josh and Loren were working on the yard, Grandma would come out to see what was going on. She'd be right up on things, too! She understood what piece broke on what equipment, when the hay was supposed to be up, when seeding time was, what was being planted where and when, when harvest was going to start, moisture content in corn, what the corn was making, calving, if we'd gotten a new bull yet or if I'd started working on my taxes... you name it, that lady was on top of things! Once a farm wife, always a farm wife I suppose. Even the last time we visited her at Maple Ridge, she was asking us to tell her more about the crops and the cattle. When she was still at home on the home place, if she didn't come out and chat, we would see her spying out her kitchen window! She thought she was far enough back that she couldn't be seen, be we saw her. We still think of that window as Grandma's window and remember seeing her spying on us!
Grandma was a strong woman of God. And a mighty prayer warrior if one ever needed one. I remember a discussion with her one time when she asked me if I prayed for Josh when he left home every morning. I said yes, and many times throughout the day, too. She said she prayed every single time Elmer walked out the door to work on the farm. And she prayed daily for Josh and Loren as they went about their work. I'm sure she prayed for her other children and grandchildren, too. But seeing the work, many time dangerous, that Josh and Loren did with her own eyes made things different. She knew the dangers of working a cattle herd, climbing a silo and working with machinery. She challenged me to be a praying wife and mother; that nothing compares to the diligent prayer from a wife and mother's heart. She was a reader, too! She studied things out and always had her Bible at hand. When she moved to her single apartment from the double one she shared with Grandpa, she didn't have room for her bookcase and books. She grabbed me by the arm and told me to take both the books and bookcase home. "And read those books", she said! Again, challenging me to grow spiritually. I have read a couple, but unfortunately at this time in life, daily duties and raising children take priority over reading. One day, though! I will read them all.
I don't know what will happen to Grandma Elizabeth's Bible, but whoever receives it will be especially blessed with a memory from a woman who lived a life by every word of it to the best of her ability.
Things changed when Grandma and Grandpa moved to town. We didn't get to see them as often as we did when they lived at home. But I think we and they enjoyed every minute of our visits. And she completely understood why we couldn't come in more often than we did. In fact, when we did go in, she would ask Josh if he shouldn't be at home doing this job or that one. And always a master of coffee times, she kept her tradition continuing by making sure we had ice cream, cookies, coffee and juice before we left. Many a times, she walked down with us to their cafeteria just to make sure we were served and didn't leave hungry! She adored her little farmer Caleb and thought it was just about the best thing ever that Sarah Rose loves math (she was a math teacher)! When it was time to leave, she made sure we were all kissed goodbye, both cheeks even!
I could go on and on with stories and memories and lessons I learned from the eight short years I knew Grandma. But for now I will have to suffice it to say that she was a one of a kind woman. One we were all blessed to have known. One I'll most definitely miss. And I know, without a doubt, that she is living Heaven up to the max, walking hand and hand with Grandpa.
They are together again... and everything will be all right.
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