"The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away;
blessed be the name of the Lord"
Job 1:21
blessed be the name of the Lord"
Job 1:21
I have thought of this verse often in the last weeks. My wonderful Grandma lived for 89 years and on December 17 went to her Heavenly home. And last week, my cousin gave birth to a little girl, Holly. Congrats!
The passing of one and the birth of another. And no matter what happens in our lives, God's name is to be blessed.
The last few months have been hard and sad ones for our family as we watched the slow decline of my Grandma. She and my Grandpa chose hospice care and for that we are all very glad. She passed away peacefully in her own home. A few days later, our whole family gathered at her memorial service to celebrate her life. We were all there to give honor to God for the life of our dear wife, mother, grandmother and great grandmother.
There are two things that I will take with me from these last weeks:
First, the importance of the everyday. I doubt most of our lives are made up of big events that happen every day. Life is mostly made up of those "routine" days when we just do that we do ever day. For me, right now its taking care of my home, Elena and of those around me. I know my Grandma prayed daily and read her Bible daily. When I lived with my grandparents for a summer I witnessed it with my own eyes. It was a daily reality. And those daily times with God changed the course of her life. Each day she took steps toward Jesus and being more like Him. I want my daily life to be more about Jesus and deepening my relationship with Him. I have a little person here at home (Elena - she's my little person!) that needs to be influenced in a Godly way.
In her testimony Grandma had mentioned how every night she would go up to her kids' beds and pray for them while they slept. What a beautiful picture! What if she hadn't prayed? Where would my mom, aunt and uncles be today? Where would I be today? Where would my cousins be? Thankfully, we are all following Jesus. Her bedside prayers made a huge impact on our family. And now its my turn. I pray that my prayers and life will impact Elena and future generations. I want to leave a legacy that changes lives - eternally!
Second, I want to invest in the lives of people. My Grandma spent time with people. She spent time with our family as well as with other people in her circle of influence. Her example has already helped me to be more selfless and more giving of my time toward others.
I know we will all remember Grandma Koop for different reasons because she impacted each of our lives in different ways. These are just a few of the ways that she impacted mine. I could go on and on talking about how wonderful my Grandma was. She was a behind-the-scenes, kind, humble and loving woman.
I am blessed to be her Granddaughter and to call her my Grandma. Elena was named after my Grandma (Elena is Spanish name for Helen). I am so glad we gave her that name! I already miss Grandma so much. But I look forward to the wonderful family reunion we will all have in Heaven someday.
The passing of one and the birth of another. And no matter what happens in our lives, God's name is to be blessed.
The last few months have been hard and sad ones for our family as we watched the slow decline of my Grandma. She and my Grandpa chose hospice care and for that we are all very glad. She passed away peacefully in her own home. A few days later, our whole family gathered at her memorial service to celebrate her life. We were all there to give honor to God for the life of our dear wife, mother, grandmother and great grandmother.
There are two things that I will take with me from these last weeks:
First, the importance of the everyday. I doubt most of our lives are made up of big events that happen every day. Life is mostly made up of those "routine" days when we just do that we do ever day. For me, right now its taking care of my home, Elena and of those around me. I know my Grandma prayed daily and read her Bible daily. When I lived with my grandparents for a summer I witnessed it with my own eyes. It was a daily reality. And those daily times with God changed the course of her life. Each day she took steps toward Jesus and being more like Him. I want my daily life to be more about Jesus and deepening my relationship with Him. I have a little person here at home (Elena - she's my little person!) that needs to be influenced in a Godly way.
In her testimony Grandma had mentioned how every night she would go up to her kids' beds and pray for them while they slept. What a beautiful picture! What if she hadn't prayed? Where would my mom, aunt and uncles be today? Where would I be today? Where would my cousins be? Thankfully, we are all following Jesus. Her bedside prayers made a huge impact on our family. And now its my turn. I pray that my prayers and life will impact Elena and future generations. I want to leave a legacy that changes lives - eternally!
Second, I want to invest in the lives of people. My Grandma spent time with people. She spent time with our family as well as with other people in her circle of influence. Her example has already helped me to be more selfless and more giving of my time toward others.
I know we will all remember Grandma Koop for different reasons because she impacted each of our lives in different ways. These are just a few of the ways that she impacted mine. I could go on and on talking about how wonderful my Grandma was. She was a behind-the-scenes, kind, humble and loving woman.
I am blessed to be her Granddaughter and to call her my Grandma. Elena was named after my Grandma (Elena is Spanish name for Helen). I am so glad we gave her that name! I already miss Grandma so much. But I look forward to the wonderful family reunion we will all have in Heaven someday.
Helen Koop Slideshow from smilingannie on Vimeo.
1 comments:
Thank you Annie. That was a beautiful tribute to Grandma Koop. Love, Aunt Nancy
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