This week has been emotional. Monday was the official start of basketball here in Michigan as we had our first practice of the year. This is one of my favorite days of the year. Then I got the news that my Grandma Catherine had had a stroke. Then on Wednesday the word came that she had passed from this life. With this news came great sadness, some regret and some guilt. Earlier this year I had contemplated the idea of making the trip to Indianapolis to see my Grandpa and Grandma Catherine but decided against it and truthfully I am not sure why I didn't go. I remember thinking that I would see them at Christmas so that probably weighed in my decision to not go. Wednesday afternoon I must have mulled that decision over in my mind a 100 times. Catherine was a special woman. She was not my biological grandma, but that didn't really matter to me and I don't think it mattered to her either. She met my grandfather in 1994 and they were married that year. Nicole and I were dating at that time and she accompanied me to Indiana for the wedding. I remember meeting all of her family and thinking either this woman was crazy or something special. Who has 9 children? Catherine did. Well, that thinking may have been a little telling of my family's future, since we have 6 kids and have had as many as 14 or 15 here at the house on any given summer day. Turns out she really wasn't crazy but she was definitely special. Catherine was always excited to see Nicole and I and our many different kids over the years. We never got down as much as we wanted but we always felt loved when we were there. We love Catherine. She has been a part of our lives for 19 years and we will always cherish the times we spent with them. The Christmas Eve party, our Memorial Day trips, and the various other times we were able to visit with Catherine will not be forgotten.
Today, we laid her to rest. The service was wonderful. I was honored to have had a small part in the service. That meant a lot to me. So thank you to all of Catherine's family for that. Thank you also to the family for sharing Catherine with us these past 19 years. She was an amazing example of faith and love. I only wish I could have had more time with her. But it isn't good-bye, for we know that one day all of us that believe and follow Christ will be reunited. So until then Grandma Catherine, see you later. We love you.
The reading that I read at the mass was from Job 19, I wanted to share that with all of my readers tonight. Now this isn't the exact translation that I read, because I don't know what translation that was but the meaning is all the same. The are 2 verses that I really like, verse 25 and 27.
23“Oh, that my words could be recorded.
Oh, that they could be inscribed on a monument,
24carved with an iron chisel and filled with lead,
engraved forever in the rock.
25“But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives,
and he will stand upon the earth at last.
26And after my body has decayed,
yet in my body I will see God!
27I will see him for myself.
Yes, I will see him with my own eyes.
Job 19:23-27 (NLT)
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