saying goodbye

today I said goodbye to an incredible woman, my grandmother. Today she went home to be with Jesus. It's a confusing time emotionally. I'm saddened at the loss of someone I love but I can't help but be excited about the thought that she is rejoicing before the throne of God. One minute I want to cry and the next I want to Praise God that she is no longer suffering. As a christian, death is bittersweet. It's just a right of passage to something far greater, unimaginably greater. Yet, as human beings we suffer when someone we love passes on. My Noni was a great woman. She was incredibly strong and hardworking, nurturing and caring. She loved God and she loved her family.
She lived through WWII, most of the time on the run with 2 small children (1 of whom was my dad). She moved here to America with her family in 1950's and 4 years after being here lost her husband to stomach cancer. A single mom of 5 children, she worked as a seamstress for Joseph Horns and she still found time to cook from scratch and care for her kids. She never remarried. When her oldest son lost his wife in a car accident and left him a widow with 4 children, she moved in and helped him care for them until he was remarried. Every Sunday she would gather her family of 5 kids and 17 grandkids so that we could enjoy great food and time together. She would love to sing and I think that's where my love of music came from. I will miss her very much, but I look forward to the day that I will stand in heaven with her and worship our God and Savior.