Lesa and I received a call late Tuesday evening that Lesa's grandmother's long fought physical battle had ended as God decided that Marie Harding had finished her course here on earth. Her life on earth ended without much fanfare, nor (thankfully) with much physical pain.
We also learned that Mrs. Harding had requested that I do her funeral service, so we have been making plans for Lesa and I to travel to NE Ohio for the service. The burden that Lesa senses for her family and for her father's health (who is still recovering from a stroke and open heart surgery) is apparent. And I am sure that the flow of memories, including canning peaches in Grandma's kitchen and running to the outhouse at the last second, will increase in the coming days. We are glad that our last visit to Ohio included a rare instance of what seemed to be coherant conversation with Grandma at the nursing home where she lived the past year or so.
As I have prayed this morning and read God's Word, the thoughts that come to my mind seem to focus on the fact of how a simple, yet faithful person who lived in a home without an indoor toilet until the late 1980's could have a profound impact on the world. As I have tried to come to a personal summary of my perception of this wonderful lady's legacy, it is wrapped up in the first 30 seconds of any conversation that anyone ever had with her. If you were to greet her with a hug and ask her how she was doing, within 5 seconds the conversation would ALWAYS be turned to the you...and she was genuinely interested.
She was always asking when we might be able to come and visit. But it was not in a way as other family members might ask. It was never laden with guilt for not being there more often, but you sensed a genuine desire to be with you. But it also included an understanding that life is often busy and she appreciated the effort of your travel.
Maybe it was the consequence of a simple life. But maybe it was more the result of a selfless life that was truly interested in others more than herself.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
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