Today was the day that we had all been dreading. Granny Poston gained her heavenly reward.

I have witnessed a couple of my grandchildren be born but today I witnessed firsthand the death process.

John 5:24 KJV

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

I had not originally wanted to be there when Granny passed away because I was the person that found our son dead when he had passed in 2013. I suffered some sleepless nights and trauma as a result of finding him.

As I said, I had not meant to be there and had hoped that she would pass in the night last night when I wasn’t there but God had other plans for me.

When I first arrived the 93 year old roommate that Granny had was sitting in her wheelchair on her side of the room and she was crying. This whole experience has been so heart wrenching for her as well. I went over and put my arms around her and told her that we love her too and hoped that we had not disturbed her too much with all of us coming and going and being too many people in the room sometimes. She said, Not at all I just hope that I have not been disturbing all of you. She then told me that her mother had died in that same nursing home years ago and that this process was very emotional for her. She got herself ready and dressed and rolled off in her wheelchair for the Bible Study group that was meeting in another area. God lesson # 1

The little CNA lady that took such precious care of Granny was going completely out of her way to provide us all with love and care. She had chairs lined up in the hallway for us as extras if there was overflow and she had chairs in the room too. She had arranged trays of snacks, sodas, and tea and coffee with bowls of cream and sugars in case any of us got hungry or thirsty. She told me that Granny was her very favorite person that she had ever taken care of and that this day was killing her. God lesson # 2

Granny’s breathing became very labored and family all started arriving and singing, touching, or lovingly holding her hand. Her breathing continued to be very labored and the medical staff came in more frequently and gave her medications to ease her passage. The love was amazing! My husband had spent the night there and he said as 2nd and 3rd shift employees got off work that they all came in and kissed Granny on the forehead and silently said their goodbyes. God lesson # 3

The time of death was quickly approaching and we all knew it as sons sat at her head and the rest of us stood around her bed. What love was in that room at that time!……God lesson # 4

Granny’s frail little body made color changes before our eyes and the one color that I was so familiar with from finding our son showed up. I knew the time was about to happen but the fear that I thought that I would have slipped away and was covered over with only the love in the room. God lesson # 5

The dreaded time arrived and she was finally at peace. The labored breathing stopped and everything was very quiet. I think we all were processing what we had just witnessed in our own different ways. There were a lot of hugs, some tears, and a few sniffles. All in all it was the closing of a very special life. God lesson # 6

While I was standing at the foot of the bed something very special happened to me. My eye got the glimpse of a person walking by the doorway and the body size and look would have passed exactly for Danny (our son that passed). He even had the ball cap on his head but as he walked by he turned his head for just a split second and then he walked on. I never saw the person’s face and he just walked on but just the image brought such comfort to me. Granny used to tell Mark and I that Danny came to see her all the time and this was after he had died and it used to make me cry every time. Who knows in the spirit realm. I don’t question it. God lesson # 7

Tonight I shared my experience of seeing this image pass by the door with my husband and he had seen that person too and he said that he felt the very same emotion and it was like Danny had just walked by. It was very odd. Whatever logical reason there is for this I do not care because it made Mark and I both feel that God cares and loves us so much and loved Granny too! God lesson # 8

As you have read these words what was dreaded by all became the specialness of the day as we all witnessed Granny passing into the arms of Jesus. It was just glorious and I now have a new memory of death that takes away the trauma of my previous experience with it. It was such a comfort to me.

Below is the words to a special song by Blue Highway. It is called Some Day and here are the words:

Some day when my last line is written
Some day when I’ve drawn my last breath
When my last words on earth have been spoken
And my lips are sealed in death
Don’t look on my cold form in pity
Don’t think of me as one dead
It’ll just be the house I once lived in
My spirit, by then, will have fled
I’ll have finished my time here allotted
But I won’t be in darkness alone
I will have heard from Heaven
The summons to come on home
And when my body is in the grave
Don’t think that I’ll be there
I won’t be dead, but living
In the place Jesus went to prepare
And after all is said and done
Know that my last earnest prayer
Is that my loved ones be ready
Someday to meet me there

Granny went into the Arms of Jesus Today……..Praise God!

In loving memory of Reba Imogene Poston