Better Is One Day

Last month we attended the funeral of Shawn’s grandmother.  This was the first funeral the kids have been to.  Anna responded with gladness that Nanny was now in Heaven and no longer sick.  She knows that no other place can compare!  I am reminded of the song lyrics, “Better is one day in Your courts than thousands elsewhere.”  The news of Nanny’s death hit Cody pretty hard emotionally.  It is a lot to process for the first time.  I loved Nanny.  She always made me feel so welcome and took me into the family as if I was one of her own.  I can’t say enough about how fond I was of her, so I will let Shawn do that for me.  At the funeral he spoke about his grandmother, and I wanted to share in my blog his writings from that day.  I wanted Cody, Anna, Dylan, and Abigail to know who she was.  I want them to know what hard work and faithfulness looks like.  I want them to know about the person who meant so much to their father.  Here are Shawn’s notes from that day…I think he did a wonderful job painting a picture of her for our kids to remember her…

“Wilma is my grandmother.  Since childhood, she and Bud have been known to my cousins and me as Nanny and Papa.

Growing up, I spent a lot of time with Nanny… she is part of many of my childhood memories, including countless hours we spent just talking about her life and experiences.  So, my memories of Nanny are a blend of first-hand experience and stories that she told me.

I know Nanny as a gracious and loving woman, who was friendly and welcoming to everyone she encountered.  She always remembered special occasions, faithfully sending birthday and holiday cards out to family members… including grand-children and great grand-children.  She loved having family and friends around, and always greeted them with a kiss… often times on the lips, if you weren’t quick enough to dodge it.  Papa will tell you that her welcoming and trusting nature almost got her into trouble on occasion.  I remember one incident when they were trying to sell their motorhome.  A prospective buyer came to the house while Papa was out.  After looking the motorhome over, the man told Nanny that he would purchase the motorhome… he only wanted to take it for a test drive first.  So, with a trusting heart, Nanny signed the title over to him, gave him the keys, and sent him away on a test drive… before any money had actually changed hands. (Papa… I bet you never expected to see that motorhome again).

I know Nanny as a hard-working and dedicated care-giver.  She moved away from home at age 13, living with a host family and caring for their 2 children while she attended a Christian school. She married Bud Lensing when she was 18, and together they raised 5 children.  They each tended to the multitude of chores that go along with raising a large family, as well as worked multiple jobs in order to send their own children to Christian schools.  Nanny worked inside the home, washing and bagging cloth diapers for their in-home cleaning service.  She also worked for years, outside the home, on a Whirlpool assembly line.  In the midst of working and raising 5 children, Nanny found time to house and care for her ailing father who suffered from Parkinson’s disease.  I have a profound respect for both Nanny and Papa… for, despite all the financial and emotional stress, they remained dedicated to each other through 58 years of marriage.

I also know Nanny as a faithful and godly woman. Many of our talks revolved around Scripture, church, and miracles she had witnessed.  She was a loyal church member and was never ashamed of her faith.  In her recent hospital stay, one of Nanny’s physicians came by to express that he felt personally responsible for complications she was experiencing.  With little regard for her own suffering, Nanny consoled the physician… patting him and telling him that it wasn’t his fault. She said that God had allowed this to happen, and God was still in control. Through her life, Nanny displayed her faith in Christ with her actions and her words. In her final days and nights in the hospital, Nanny often talked to God as if He were in the hospital room with her.

Hebrews 11:1 says, “Faith is the hope of things to come, the evidence of things not seen.” While we will certainly miss Nanny, we can rejoice with her… for, her faith is now a reality. All that she has hoped for and believed is now being revealed to her in Heaven.”