It's Never Easy to Say Goodbye

One of the sweetest ladies I have ever known...

Fourth grade, 1989.   I was sitting in the office of my new school, the school I didn't want to be, the school where I didn't know anyone, the school that made me long to be with my old friends at my old school.  I didn't want my mom to leave me and my sister there.  I was scared, nervous, and sad to say the least.  As a 9 year old, I thought my world was coming to an end.  It must of been written across my face because about the time I decided I was going to hit the door running, this little lady named Mrs. Strader (the school secretary) got up from behind her desk, came over and patted me on the shoulder, looked me in the eye, and told me everything was going to be okay.

        
        Long before I knew her grandson...

        Long before I knew her sweet family...

        Long before I became a part of that family...

        Long before I began calling her Mamaw...

        Long before she became my babies great grandmother...

I have such vivid memories of that morning.  Maybe because it was "the end of the world" to me at the time.  Or just maybe it is because that was the day I met a lady who would end up becoming so much more to me than just my 4th grade school secretary.

The way she made me feel at home in 4th grade was the same way she made me feel at home when Jason took me to her house for the first time.  She welcomed me into their family with open arms.  

Our kiddo's have grown up right down the road from Great Mamaw and Papaw.  Always stopping by to say hi and then leaving with a Diet Rite and chocolate in hand. Her perfectly trimmed flower beds, her family pictures proudly displayed on her kitchen table, her collection of glass dolls, her sweet and kind heart that always made me smile, her love for her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.  Oh, how missed she will be.  It will not be the same without her on this earth.  

I'm am thankful that we have the promise of Heaven, the promise that we will meet again someday, the promise that this world is not the end of life, the promise to live forever in the glory land.    

What a blessing to have had Mamaw in our lives.  Until we meet again...  

"weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." Psalm 30:5