singing and dancing with jesus!

mark's grandmother, Kathryn Nutt Shamburger, is singing and dancing in heaven with jesus! she went to be the lord on saturday morning and tuesday we celebrated her life in tyler, texas. it was a wonderful day of remembering her amazing life. grandmommy (that's what we called her) served so many roles in her life, but what i will remember most about her is her passion and love for christ and how she demonstrated christ's love in her life. grandmommy was a pastor's wife for many years and served so many, but even after her pastor husband pass away she continued to minister to her community. in those 18 years she loved, encouraged, and met the needs of so many. she was living example of "having the Word of God written on your heart." as her health was failing, and the demencia set in, grandmommy was always reciting scripture. not the same verse over and over, but all kinds of passages that would encourage you and remind you of her savior. it was such a powerful testimony of her heart! she shared christ's love with everyone. the other thing that i will always remember about grandmommy is that she was a poet. this was a precious gift that god gave her and she used it well. she had poems for all occassions in her life. what i loved most is that she could remember them all and while she was telling you a story about her life, she always had a poem to go along. most of them would make you laugh. she was witty and very funny! here is one that i especially love and heard her tell often..

I got old much sooner than I expected.
Age had crossed my mind, but that thought I’d rejected!
I meant to grow roses, the talk of the town,
Be presented at Court in a white satin gown,
Sing in Carnegie Hall, take a bow at the Met,
Preach to the lost in Shanghai or Tibet.
Meant to rock the grandchildren more—sew for them too,
Make little girls’ dresses embroidered in blue,
Do needlework, housework, and make it seem play,
Lose weight, get a face lift—model with clay.
Meant to work with ceramics, make chickens and frogs,
Roll all my newspapers into neat fireplace logs.
Meant to ride on a jet ski—go diving for pearls,
And fly across oceans to exotic new worlds.
Those far away places whose names I can’t say
Are forever calling by night and by day.
I got old so much sooner than I had expected
Age had crossed my mind, but that thought I’d rejected.
I will not get old (or at least I’ll pretend)
For deep down inside me my youth will not end!

my precious mother-in-law inherited this gift of poetry. she wrote the these words to express her feelings about her mom's life. the poem was read at her funeral on tuesday...

She’s singing now in Heaven with a smile upon her face
For she has been adopted through His free redeeming grace
Her life on earth has ended, but her voice forever rings
To tell us about Jesus and the peace and joy He brings
She sets her gaze on Jesus as she walks the streets of gold
She’s living the experience she know has been foretold
The tree of life is reaching with its branches stretching out
To feed her as she relishes God’s love without a doubt
The cares and trials of her old life she now has left behind
Walking there with Jesus through the gates that are divine
Heaven is her resting place where there is no more night
God’s own hand protecting as she stands there in the light
Her life on earth prepared her and how fitting her reward
For to her world she ministered, told others of His Word
She pointed us to Jesus, to our Home there up above
Her life was an example of the meaning of Christ’s love.

grandmommy meant so many things to so many people, but what i know she will be remembered most for is her incredible love for jesus. i am honored to have the responsibility to pass on her legacy to my own children. these words that sarah, my sister in law, wrote on her blog, i think are so perfect, "how amazingly blessed we are to have families who although are very imperfect, as we all are, had faith in a perfect Savior." i know that grandmommy is singing and dancing with her perfect savior now. how lucky she is!!