It was the summer of 1994 and I had been reassigned to the Huntsville area with my job. Granny (Bertie Mae) and I had never been separated. In fact she had lived in my back door for the entire 22 years of my exhistance. We talked on the phone every single night and I ventured home every off day. Finally she asked me to take her to Huntsville with me for a short visit. "I just want to see where you sit on the couch when we talk on the phone," she explained. "It will me make me feel better if I can imagine you there when we talk."
I picked her up in my small white pick-up and we headed north on US 431. As we approached the town of Guntersville I explained to her that we would be crossing a lot of water and she should not be nervous. As we crossed the large bridge over Lake Guntersville (The Tennessee River), her mouth dropped and she raised up in the seat. She gasped, "this must be what they call the ocean?" I laughed a little and then realized she was serious. I asked, "Granny, have you never seen the ocean?" She replied that she had never seen anything. Immediately the wheels in my mind began to turn.
Two weeks later I drove her to Gulf Shores, Alabama. We stayed in a beautiful high rise
hotel where all the rooms had a private balcony overlooking the beach. She couldn't tell what she was about to see when we drove in because of the buildings and her sight was already bad. My anxiety built like my tears are now as I write this. We rode the elevator up to our room on the 8th floor. I walked her out on the balcony and she had to take two steps back. She absolutely could not believe her eyes. We spent two days and nights on that balcony laughing and talking about things and enjoying God's most wonderful and beautiful creation.
Nine years later, after hours and hours of struggling in the hospital, we reached the last few moments of her life. All the family was gathered around, but I was at the head of her bed craddling her in my arms. I whispered "I will see you at the beach."......and I surely will.
It takes a special sort of person to take time out of his/her busy life to take Granny to the beach. What an amazing thing to do for her. The ocean is such a symbol of God's love and mercy for us. Our sins are but a drop of water in the ocean of His mercy (loosely quoted from Mother Angelica). Thank you for sharing this story! It's beautiful.
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