The One I've Been Dreading

I've been dreading this post. I put it off in hopes that if I didn't write it, it wouldn't be true. When I realized it was true, then I feared I wouldn't be able to write a post that would honor my mother-in-law the way it should. But I will try.

Monday, February 2, 2009 was a day we will never forget. We awoke with a 4:30 am phone call that brought news that would forever change our lives. George's mom had died... it was a sudden massive heart attack... and it was definitely unexpected.

We were in shock. How could she have died? Beverly was healthy and George had just talked to her the night before. He and his dad are ham radio operators, and they talk via ham radio every Sunday night. That particular night, George's radio didn't work, so he called his parents on the phone instead. He told his parents he loved them, and hung up, not knowing that his mom would die just a few hours later.

Thank God the ham radio didn't work that night.

A few weeks have gone by since Beverly's death, and it still hasn't sunk in. I'm not sure when it will. Since she has been gone, Reese has learned to crawl, pull up, and clap. She didn't get to see any of those milestones. She won't be here for his first birthday, or his first day of school. Beverly only knew Reese for 9 short months, but she loved him. We will make sure he knows.

Beverly was a loving wife, mother, friend, mother-in-law, and grandmother. Unfortunately, I never told her that she was a good mother-in-law. She made me feel at home with the Deines family from day one. I will always remember her as a great example of a woman who served the Lord and others. She joyfully put the needs of her husband, family, and friends above her own needs.

It hurt to lose Beverly. And it will hurt for a long, long time.

But we do have comfort. We have comfort in the Lord, and we are thankful that Beverly is with Him at this hour. Not because she was a good person, though she was. Not because she did good deeds, which she did. It was not those things that saved her. We know Beverly had faith in Jesus Christ, and since she is absent from her body, she is present with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8).

And we have been comforted by our dear friends and family during this difficult time. Thank you all for the caring emails, phone calls, cards, flowers, food, visits, and prayers. Please keep praying for us as we continue to mourn.

Grandma Deines and Reese