You CAN take it with you after all!

I've been doing some serious thinking and soul-searching over the past week.  Gramma Lillie was in the hospital, and we got the call on Monday that she was probably not going to make it through the day. 

Of course her entire family rushed to her side to say our "I love you"s and our goodbyes.  When I entered her room and went to her bedside, she looked at me and said "Well, it looks like I'm gonna get to go home and be with Jesus!"  Such a dear saint of God, and such a wonderful promise we have!

She actually stayed with us until Sunday evening at 6:40pm, and then she went on to claim her reward.  I know that she is shouting on the hills of glory with her husband, Dennis (my hubby's namesake) and her sister Lucille and all the saints and dear friends and loved ones that have gone before her.  What rejoicing she must be doing right now!!!

Which brings me to the thought that has really resonated with me this week. We have all heard the phrase "You can't take it with you".  And when talking about material things and earthly possessions, this is certainly the absolute truth.  We came into this world naked and owning nothing and we leave it the same way.

But there are some things that Lillie will get to take with her on this journey.  Because of her faithfulness to God and her devotion to her family, every one of her kids and grandkids is not only living their lives for God, but also are actively involved in ministry.  She wasn't a preacher, but she raised up a house full of preachers to spread the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which is the power of God unto Salvation!

And that is what she takes with her.  Her family.  Her labors in this life were not to earn money or financial rewards, but the more important payoff of spiritual things and life eternal.  She instilled a love of God and modeled faithfullness and a consistent prayer life to her kids and grandkids. 

My husband lived with her for almost a year while he was attending the University of Oklahoma.  He said that every single morning at 9:00 he would hear the sounds of his Gramma going to prayer.  The sound of that mighty woman's voice still resonates in the annals of my memory.  Hers is the voice that I listened for when we would go to Ladies' Prayer Meeting at Southeast UPC.  She was such a faith-filled woman and a powerful voice of prayer.

And her prayers paid off!  Her husband, Dennis, who had for many years fought against her attending church with their 3 children, ended up in an altar of his own, and was filled with the precious gift of the Holy Ghost.  For him this happened at a later time in life than most, but the point is he was Spirit-filled when he went on to keep his own appointment with his Maker.  Lillie saw that prayer answered and accomplished many great things, and as her daughter-in-law Linda so eloquently put it "She did it all on her knees."

I have always admired Lillie Nance; long before I had a clue that I would, just like her, become Mrs. Dennis Nance.  She was just one of those dear saints in the church that you could look to and say "if she prayed her family through, I can pray mine through!  If Dennis Nance got the Holy Ghost, there isn't a person alive who can't get it!" 

The fruits of her prayers were so vibrant and rich that one couldn't help but look to her for inspiration.  Whatever our individual prayer requests were, we could look to Lillie and see the answers to those same prayers and have faith for their fulfillment.

What big shoes are left behind for us to fill!  We had a praying Gramma, and certainly as a result of those long years of faithful commitment to God through thick and thin, she gets to take her family with her to Heaven.

So this is the payoff day.  Every struggle, every trial, every long hour spent before the Throne of Grace in prayer became worth it at 6:41 pm yesterday evening!  She is free from the struggles of her mortal body and is reaping the rewards of living a life well and for the Lord.

What a blessed assurance!  What a glorious promise!  What a way to end a life!  With heaven in sight and her family all around her.  I am so thankful that we serve such a mighty God that is able to keep his promises and has loved us enough to allow us to live beyond this mortal plane...taking us to a beautiful Home above!

So I have renewed my determination to be a praying Mama and eventually a praying Gramma myself.  I want my kids to see faithfulness in me like Lillie's saw in her.  And in the end, I want that most precious reward; to take my kids to heaven with me.  If Lillie Nance could do it, I can do it!  In Jesus' Name!!!!

Everyone wants to die right; but few people want to live right.  We're left with only the certainty that this life is fleeting; like a vapor.  We never know when our time is coming.  We may live into our 80's like Lillie did; or we could go long before then as so many young people and children have before us.  The only certainty is that this life will end; so if we want to be ready to die right, we have to be willing to live right...NOW. 

Lord, help me to live my life in a way that glorifies You and keeps me ready to meet You when my appointed time comes, whenever it may be.  I can't wait to greet Lillie on that beautiful shore and rejoice right beside her. 

We love you, Gramma Lillie!!!  We miss you but in our mourning we are comforted by the wonderful knowledge that you live on in health and happiness, worshipping God as you always have.  We look forward to the day when we will see you again on the other side.