It seems like she was always there. My Grandma, Annie Hannan, has been part of my life as long as I can remember. When we were going up, Grandma and Grandpa lived only a few short blocks away from us and so we saw them almost every day. We had sleepovers. We went for walks. We went out for supper together. Every summer, we would go camping with them, mostly at Buffalo Pound Provincial Park. Growing up Grandma was always a part of my life. Then, when I got married and had kids, she became part of their lives too. Visits to see Grandma often meant “Orange floats” and games of Crokinole. In later years, we often talked on the phone and she always wanted to know how Sara and the girls were doing.
She had been in and out of the hospital frequently over the past few months, so, considering that she was ninety-one years old, it was not hard to guess that the end may be near. Still it was a shock when my mom called last Thursday to say that “Granny” (as her great-grandchildren called her) was gone. She had passed away in her sleep earlier that morning.
When that phone call came, I was in the middle of writing my sermon for the week. The text was Romans 2:6-8 which says, “God ‘will repay each person according to what they have done.’ To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honour and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.”
Someone commenting on this passage said, “Godly ambition pursues God: Selfish ambition pursues favourable comparisons with other people” and I thought again of my Grandma.
She and Grandpa were baptized in a creek near Willmar, Saskatchewan in the summer of 1944. Some of my earliest memories are of going to church with my mom and my Grandparents. They did not have many worldly possessions. They lived in a small house. They owned only one brand new vehicle. If they were seeking “favourable comparisons with other people” they would have lost. However, that was not their goal. Instead, they were concerned about “persistence in doing good”. They were concerned about Godly things and they passed that faith on to my mother and, ultimately, to me and my siblings.
Sadly, my Grandma is gone, but her influence on us will never be forgotten.
She invested in her family. She invested in her faith. She invested with love.
In the end, she gave us a blessing is far better than any monetary inheritance.
What she gave us is eternal.
She had been in and out of the hospital frequently over the past few months, so, considering that she was ninety-one years old, it was not hard to guess that the end may be near. Still it was a shock when my mom called last Thursday to say that “Granny” (as her great-grandchildren called her) was gone. She had passed away in her sleep earlier that morning.
When that phone call came, I was in the middle of writing my sermon for the week. The text was Romans 2:6-8 which says, “God ‘will repay each person according to what they have done.’ To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honour and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.”
Someone commenting on this passage said, “Godly ambition pursues God: Selfish ambition pursues favourable comparisons with other people” and I thought again of my Grandma.
She and Grandpa were baptized in a creek near Willmar, Saskatchewan in the summer of 1944. Some of my earliest memories are of going to church with my mom and my Grandparents. They did not have many worldly possessions. They lived in a small house. They owned only one brand new vehicle. If they were seeking “favourable comparisons with other people” they would have lost. However, that was not their goal. Instead, they were concerned about “persistence in doing good”. They were concerned about Godly things and they passed that faith on to my mother and, ultimately, to me and my siblings.
Sadly, my Grandma is gone, but her influence on us will never be forgotten.
She invested in her family. She invested in her faith. She invested with love.
In the end, she gave us a blessing is far better than any monetary inheritance.
What she gave us is eternal.
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