We called her “Omoe.” (although I’m not really sure why, when all the other Dutch kids call their grandmothers “Oma”) She was a great storyteller, able to make any regular day occurrence an adventure. She made amazing “Mocha Tarte,” and grew beautiful flowers. As long as she was able, she turned any piece of yarn or thread into something useful (or snuggly).
When I last saw her, I told her that she should probably buy a new dress for her 100th birthday. (She had just turned 95 in January.) But she would have no part of that. For the past few years her desires echoed these words from Chris Rice’s song “Smile”:
“My journey's here, but my heart is there, so I dream and wait, and keep the faith, while You prepare our destiny, till You come back for me. Oh, please make it soon! Cause I just wanna be with You, I just want this waiting to be over…”
Her waiting is over... on the first day of spring, the Lord answered her prayer.
At her funeral we recited the words to Q&A #1 from the Heidelberg Catechism. Words that summed up her life. Last year my family memorized these words and in the process of saying them day after day they began to sink in and change my perspective too. My prayer is that by God’s grace I may live them out with the certainty and sincerity that Omoe did.
What is your only comfort in life and in death?
That I am not my own, but belong, body and soul, in life and in death to my faithful Saviour, Jesus Christ. He has fully paid for all my sins with His precious blood, and set me free from the tyranny of the devil. He also watches over me in such a way that not a hair can fall from my head without the will of my Father in heaven: in fact, all things must work together for my salvation. Because I belong to Him, Christ by His Holy Spirit assures me of eternal life and makes me whole-heartedly willing and ready from now on to live for Him.
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