Today is Tuesday, March 8th, 2005; Karen's Korner #497
While Jim and I were gone to Australia and New Zealand, we received a very special email note from Pam Meeder's heart about a "life experience" with her grandma, Sadie Swenson, who was a lifelong resident of Wright County.
I asked Pam if she was willing to share some of what she typed with Karen's Korner readers and she agreed.
It seems that several weeks ago, early on a Saturday morning, Pam got a phone call from her mom who lives in Oklahoma. Pam's grandma wasn't doing very well. Would Pam and husband Fred go to Belmond to see her? Pam reluctantly agreed. She had experienced watching others who she loved died and really didn't want to go. But they went.
Pam's aunt was in the room when the Meeders got there, but must have needed a break, as she left when Pam and Fred arrived. Pam said Grandma Sadie was very restless."She was thrashing her arms because she was uncomfortable," she said. Pam asked her about a cool cloth for her face. Anything Pam suggested, grandma wasn't interested.
"I asked the care center staff to bring me a Bible," Pam said. When Pam asked her what she would like to hear, her grandma responded, "Anything."
"Out of my own frustration, I opened it to Ecclesiaster 3 and read verses 1 - 8; I really like this scripture," Pam said. "Then I didn't know what to read but figured the Psalms were always good in hard times. I turned to Psalm 23 and read to her."
As Pam read, her grandmother passed away. Pam said she believes that the Word of God comforted her. "I feel truly blessed to have been there for her and am no longer afraid of watching someone die," Pam said.
As the rest of the family got together to begin putting together funeral arrangements, Pam learned that those two Bible verses were favorites of her grandma's. "Grandma had the verses written on a page of notes," she said. "I had no idea they were her favorites. I just opened the Bible and started reading. What happened to me that day has proved to me once again that we are not alone in death. We may have our friends and family around but the Holy Spirit is there with us also."
The family asked Pam if she would share that special eulogy at her grandmother's funeral. "I did it with all the love in my heart and the knowledge that grandma is in a better place," she said. "I didn't cry as I spoke instead felt an overwhelming desire to celebrate her life."
Pam's last line to me: "I wanted to share this with you because of the blessings I felt I received."
There is the historical God and Jesus, but when He leaps off the pages of history into our daily lives, we are no longer the same.
Thanks, Pam, for sharing!
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