Grandma’s Faith

The Lord is My Shepherd:

A Grandma Story

Several years ago, my 94-year-old, ball-of-fire, Italian grandma taught us all a lesson in faith. She had a number of things wrong with her body and had been living in a nursing home for several years where she could get the expert help she so desperately needed. My mom and dad lived close enough so they could visit her every day. If I can’t say she really did well, I can at least say she maintained her spark. The last time I saw Grandma, I was visiting from Alabama, I told her I would see her again around her birthday. Her response was, “Oh, Bev, I don’t want another birthday.” Somehow, it didn’t seem like a morbid statement. It just sounded like, as always, she knew what she wanted. About four months later, she declined and had to be taken to the hospital.

While in the hospital, my grandma became unresponsive. One day during a visit, the doctor approached my mother to inform her that my grandma’s kidneys were failing. Mom asked about what could be done and was told they could start dialysis, but that it would be very uncomfortable for Grandma. Mom asked the doctor what she would recommend, and the doctor offered the options, none of which provided much hope. “I just wish I could have a sign what to do,” my mom responded. Understand that my grandmother had not conversed or even reacted to company for a while, but when my mother went back to her, my grandmother said clearly, “The Lord is my Shepherd, and I’m not sad about this.” My mother had her sign, and without further conversation, my grandmother passed into the arms of her Shepherd very soon afterward.

The Bible Tells Me So

Jesus said, “The thief comes only to kill, steal and destroy. I have come so they may have life, and have it in the full. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep” (John 10:10-11).

Sickness and the deterioration of old age attempted to overcome my grandma, but in the end, it could only overcome her flesh because her spirit knew who to follow. The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When He has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him, because they know his voice” (John 10:2-6). Because Jesus won the victory over death, hell and the grave, Grandma is also victorious. I know that today she is healthy and happy and alive with her Good Shepherd, and someday I’m going to join them, because He’s my Shepherd, too.

God bless you!

*This story was first printed in Coffee on the Porch With Jesus by Beverly R. Green (2016).