Grandma's viewing, funeral, and burial has come and passed. Her funeral and burial went amazingly, (emotionally) easy for me. I may have gotten teary eyed a few times (especially when my husband spoke at the funeral) but I only cried hard 2 times during the funeral process.
When I saw Anna Gibson, before the funeral started, I cried. I love her so much. My first memory of her was her being a teacher of mine at church during my childhood. She helped guide me to finding my own testimony of my Savior, Jesus Christ. I remember very well, her even defending me one day when someone said something that didn't paint me in the best of light. I always knew Anna loved me, but on that day, it was clear just how much she loved me. When she hugged me at Grandma's funeral and whispered into my ear, "I will be joining your Grandma soon" I just lost it. I love this woman very much.
The next time I sobbed was after the funeral. Our family was all lined up outside the church as people were leaving the building to give us hugs and show their love towards us. My friend, Brandy, hugged me and again I was just a wreck. She never met my Grandma, yet came to her funeral because she loved ME. What a true act of friendship that was shown to me in that moment. I also think I was so emotional with her because she lost her mother just a little over a year ago. I knew that as I was hugging her, I was hugging a woman who knew grief. I knew she knew, more than most there in attendance, just how hard the coming days ahead would be for me and she wanted to show me love to get me through it.
Grandma's burial went surprisingly smooth for me. I was just at peace.
But the day before was a different story. The day before, Tammy Gibson (Anna's daughter-in-law) and Betty Powers came to assist Mom, April, Amanda, and I in preparing Grandma's body in her temple clothes. I was so grateful for Tammy and Betty's service in helping us. It was such an honor to give Grandma this one final act of service. But I expected this grand, spiritual experience and didn't receive it.
However, I want to record what happened at her viewing later that night. Our family had alone time with Grandma before the public would come and say their goodbyes to Grandma. As I walked up to the casket where my Grandma's body lay, I was taken back 18 years ago almost to the day. On December 29, 2001 my Grandma was my escort in the temple. When you go through the temple to receive your endowments for the first time, you can take an escort with you. I chose my Grandma. She is the one who taught me how to put on my temple clothing and guided me through the process of making my own covenants with my Heavenly Father that day. Now it was here 18 years later and I was looking at her body, that served her spirit for 70 years, dressed in her temple clothes. The same type of clothes that she helped me dress in for the first time. It was such a beautiful memory. And in that moment I finally had my big spiritual experience that I wanted early that day when dressing her. 18 years ago she helped me learn the ways of the Lord, as she had all my life, and 18 years later I was looking at those beautiful temple clothes again, that I had helped put on her this time. What a glorious cycle.
This is a picture taken the day before my Grandma guided me through the temple. All these years I have looked at this picture and it has never meant so much to me as it does now.
I'll end with another memory that came to mind. This was before her funeral started. I walked into the room that her casket and body lay to see her one last time. Betty walked up to me, put her arms around me, and told me how beautiful she looked. I shared with her an experience I had with Grandma that I was just reminded of when I entered that room. I was looking at Grandma's face with all that funeral makeup on, which they did a good job on but they never look the same. I think it has more to do with the fact that their precious Spirit isn't in tact with their body anymore. Anyways, I told Betty about the first time I saw a body at a funeral home. I was working at a flower shop at the time and normally when flowers were ordered for a funeral service, we just placed the flowers/plants at the back entrance and the employees put them in with the bodies. Well, this time they were busy and told me to bring them in. I was pretty nervous as I brought in those flowers. I remember looking at the body in the casket and feeling weird.
At the time, I was living with my Grandparents and Uncle Chuck. When I came home that day, I told Grandma about my experience and how I didn't like it. She just said to me, "Oh honey, it's just a shell." From that day on, I never had a problem with delivering flowers/plants to the funeral homes.
That was my Grandma. Always teaching me. I pray her Spirit is near me even after her death so that she can continue to teach me.
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