Grandma Mary

Mary Jeanette Neidig Jeude

9-11-1918 to 3-31-2009

The whole family from G-ma's 90th b-day celebration last summer. My cousin Dave couldn't make it so we photo shopped him in! It's not a perfect fit but it works!It's interesting now to see that just 11 days before Gma passed away, Laura prayed for her leg to grow back. What a great opportunity to talk about how her prayer was answered! We talked about the new body she gets in Heaven and how she got her leg back!

Laura really enjoyed that and it was a great reminder to have the right perspective!

We are sad she's gone but so thankful that her pain and suffering are over!

I am so thankful for the whole experience, or rather the way the experience has played out. Gpa's death last year was a completely different experience. I don't know if that's because he was the closest relative I'd ever had die, or perhaps because we spent every day with him for over a week up until he was gone. John and I were even present for his last breath.

A moment I'm sure I'll never, ever forget.

Mom had been praying that when it was Gma's time that it would be quick and that God would be merciful. On a snowy Thurs. morning mom went in to wake Gma and couldn't get her to respond. This moment for mom was preceded by a conversation with me on the phone. I was driving to visit a friend that had had a baby and lost signal when I pulled into the parking garage. I was so excited to see and hold Zeke that I forgot to call mom back and let her know all was well. Did I mention the snow? Mom got hysterical thinking that not only had something happened to Gma but now I was gone in some snowy car crash. It wasn't until about 45 min. later that I realized I had put my phone on vibrate and didn't have it on me. I think I had missed 5-6 calls from mom. What a loser daughter! I'll spare you all the details but let me add here that I have a very forgiving and gracious mother! I got in touch with her just as they were taking Gma by ambulance to the hospital. Because of the snow, a 20min drive took 2 hours. I picked up John at home and we drove to the hospital.

What happened next was the long drawn out discovery of Gma's massive stoke, on the right side of her brain. She couldn't speak, other than a few choice words, like Kleenex and "I love you". She couldn't swallow or move her arm or leg on the left side. What a painful road to go down when someone has decided "enough". Maybe this is where it was easier than with Gpa. Gpa had almost a "second wind" at the end. Putting him in a place he hadn't been in years. It gave us a much needed reminder of happier days before he left us. His last year was long and trying for him. He wasn't happy, except for his last few coherent days.

Gma on the other hand was just a shadow of her former self at this point.

In contrast, Gma was always happy in her last months. Sure, she had her sad moments after Gpa was gone. And certainly while in the hospital dealing with her amputation so soon after Gpa's death. But once she "broke" out of rehab, her positive outlook on life returned. There was much laughter once Gma was home. And much shopping. I think shopping might have been Gma's greatest passion!

Back to the present, I am compelled to mention some of the neat God moments from the last week. Moments where you see God's hand so clearly working. At one point John and I were scheduled to be in Israel, we would have been there on March 31st., that trip got cancelled the end of last year. On the day of her stroke, Mom was going to go with me to a dermatologist appt. but because of a virus on her work computer, stayed home to catch up. On the day Gma passed, I was going to bring the kids over to mom's for one last good-bye. We had gotten many different dates over the past few days from Hospice and I thought I should take this morning to finish up all my work to free me up for long days at mom's with Gma. After Gpa, we were expecting it to take longer. Instead, Mom's prayers were answered and Gma went quickly. Mom called to let me know it was close and I left immediately for her house, without the kids. I missed Gma's last breath but was so thankful that the Lord spared that memory for the kids.

We all would have been there had I not been delayed with work.

Some could argue that it was all coincidence, I beg to differ.

God is ever present in each of our lives, if we choose to see Him residing there.

His joy in times of sadness can't be explained away, it can only be reflected through our lives, for others to see. We may have brief moments of sadness still,

but He is there, wiping our tears and carrying us through.