God love my Maw Maw.....

Saturday night, May 8, 2010, my dear, sweet grandmother, Selma Bradley Cates Redding, passed away. She was 92 years old. I can’t begin to describe what a blessing she was to everyone she knew. She is sorely missed, and I have spent the last couple of days remembering the beautiful ways she has touched our lives.


We spent the weekend in Jackson working on water issues at the farm. Friday evening, we received an urgent phone call from my mother telling us that Maw Maw was probably leaving us. We made the incredibly long 30 minute drive to Humboldt and to the Veterans Nursing Home to find that she had stabilized. My parents, my uncle and his wife, and my dear Aunt Jo (Maw Maw’s sister and best friend) were already there. We were able to spend a few minutes with her, and though I had already told her good-bye at a previous visit, I was able to once again remind her that I loved her and kiss her sweet head one more time. James said a prayer over her, and we left to get Robert in bed.

When we returned home that night, we were visiting with my parents when James made the comment that he truly felt the presence of God when he entered her room that night. I don’t really know how to describe it, but James was right. The Lord’s presence in that room that night was overwhelming. Over the last couple of days, I have relived that experience. I have realized that the Lord’s presence was always surrounding my Maw Maw. She faced a lot of tough times in her life, including having to raise her four sons alone after her husband died at an early age. She could have chosen to give up or to be bitter over the hand that life had dealt her. Instead, she chose to rise above. She chose to be happy and to bring the joy of the Lord into the lives of the people in her life.

Over the last several years, she lived in an assisted living facility and then later in a nursing home. I cannot tell you how many staff members told me in that time that they were not supposed to have favorites, but they just couldn’t help themselves when it came to “Miss Selma.” She managed to crack jokes and make everyone laugh even when she didn’t have the strength to feed herself or even sit up in the bed. She always expressed gratitude when anyone did anything for her, and she always took the time to visit with anyone who needed an ear. I think she was the “Dear Abby” of her assisted living facility, as she was always telling us of the personal lives of the staff members who had obviously chosen to turn to her with their pain. She was special. The love and joy of the Lord shone through her, even to the very end. Indeed, the presence of God was in that room Friday night -- and in every room in which my sweet grandmother ever entered.