Box Of Cards

I will never forget the morning of October 7, 2003.  Our family had been gathered at Jacksonville Hospital for almost 24 hours.  Granny (Bertie Mae) had been admitted early on the previous day.  She was about 25 days shy of turning 95.  Throughout that day her sugar levels sky rocketed to near 700 and she suffered several heart attacks.  It was amazing to us how she kept battling back, even sitting up in bed at one point in the evening and speaking with us.  She was so strong and amazing throughout her entire life, it shouldn’t have been a surprise to any of us how she demonstrated that same strength in her final hours.  In the wee hours of the morning, she was losing the battle and suffering cardiac arrest one final time.  Everyone was hysterical.  I stood by her bed and cradled her in my arms and whispered to her quietly as she slipped away from us.

After some time had passed and we had the energy to go through her personal items, one of my aunts brought me a box with my name on it.  Inside the box was every single card I had ever given my grandmother.  She had taught me at a very young age to write your feelings down.  She always mailed cards to her friends and relatives not only when they were sick, had a birthday, or for Christmas, but just because she was thinking of them and wanted to let them know.  I picked this habit up from her and she was my favorite person to send a card to.  As I sat down and opened every one of them individually it brought back so many memories of the two of us and the private moments we shared.

Through the years I have developed a reputation with friends, colleagues, and family for mailing cards.  In fact, some of my friends nickname me “mushy” because of how often and what I write in their cards.  It’s a great habit that I picked up from Bertie Mae.  Never miss an opportunity to let the people in your life know how much you love them. 

It’s been seven years now since Granny passed away.  I know she is in such a better place and there is a mansion waiting for me right next door to her.  During her funeral I read a poem that truly personified her legacy and what I thought her message to her loved ones would be.  “I will make a wish for you, and hope it will come true;  that life will just be kind, to such a gentle mind.  If you lose your way, think back on yesterday, and remember me this way; remember me this way.”

I keep that box of cards in a cedar chest in my bedroom.  When I am missing her I find a great deal of comfort in knowing how much she treasured our relationship as well.  Love like that is such a blessing from God and reassures me that He fully intends on a glorious reunion.  What a glad day it will be!