There is no other word that better encompasses the 84 years spent on this earth by my grandmother Betty Jo (Stephens) Odell. She moved in love like it was a dance she had always known. She spoke with such warmth in her tone when she would recall her childhood. Though by all other accounts a very rough one, growing up in a one room home with her siblings. She spoke of the warmth of love they shared. How she loved her own mama and her "daddy" as she affectionately called him.
Oh, how I adored her stories of home as a child and I shared her love of "Little House on the Prairie" as a young girl. She always said it reminded her of home.
She showed me how to love. Oh, how she loved my Grandpa. They shared 62 years together as she proudly recalled even as she was sick in the hospital her last days. Their love for each other clearly still evident in the way he spoke to her and looked at her. Grandma always told me love was not always easy but so worth the fight.
Her boys were her heart! She wore them like a proud badge of joy! She was so very proud of their relationship with each other and how much they cared for one another. She was so proud of all they had accomplished. I could see her memories as she watched my boys play together as she would always revert back to when hers were little. Her words of wisdom, "Honey, you just rock those babies. All the chores can wait."
She adored all her grandchildren and great grandchildren. As she would always give me a new number after another was added by either marriage or birth. Her cup was overflowing.
She was the picture of country hospitality. It was never uncommon that friends and neighbors would stop by at all hours of the day or night to visit. She would always usher them in for a cup of coffee or glass of tea and conversation. Oh, how she loved to talk. But not just surface talk, she loved to get right to your heart. Empathy was second nature to her. She hurt with those who hurt and rejoiced with those who rejoiced.
Anyone who knew my grandmother, knew exactly where she learned to love. The name of Jesus moved across her lips as easily as the oxygen she breathed. She loved Him passionately and intimately. My very favorite moments spent with her were setting with her on her back patio early in the morning while she read her Bible. We would talk about how sweet Jesus is and how much He loves us. She taught me the beauty of being still before Him and listening to His voice.
Its through her guidance I observed how to savor the moments of life. Moments like sunrises, the sound of crickets in the morning and locusts at night, and a good cup of coffee! And how to express gratitude to our Lord for those sweet, simple pleasures that ultimately are everything.
But her greatest joy was speaking of Heaven and meeting her Savior. Her last days on earth were spent sharing Jesus love. She told me from her hospital bed that she'd been telling everyone she would meet about Jesus. She said, "Maybe that's why I'm here..." Grandma that is exactly why you were here. Here on earth, to be His vessel of love. His artist.
She painted the most beautiful tapestry of love and life into every heart she touched.
I had the great privilege to be a part of the miracle of her life for 35 years. I am who I am because she allowed the Love of Jesus to change her and flow like a rushing river through her. I sang hymns to her during her last days, my great honor to sing her home!
But when she went, I did not realize a piece of my heart would go with her! Guard that piece until we meet again Grandma!
"And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love." 1 Corinthians 13:13
