Below is the tribute I read at Momsie's memorial service this morning. I hope it shares just a little bit about who she was and what a gift she was to me.
We are heading to Ikea in Atlanta tomorrow for some furniture shopping. We are hoping that we may get back in swing of things this week, so I am hopeful that we might actually get some pics and life updates posted.
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We are here today to honor and remember my grandmother. To most of you, she was “Joann” or “Mrs. Collins.” To her five grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren, she was “Momsie.” “Momsie” is an unusual grandmother name, to be sure, but most people thought it was fitting: it sounds sweet and, well, petite, if a word can possibly sound petite. Momsie was petite in physical size, no doubt, but I am here before you this morning to testify that her stature is where Momsie’s “petiteness” ended. She was a woman of greatness: of great humor, great character, great wisdom, great prayer, and in all these things, great love.
Momsie was funny. Many of you have shared with our family in the past days what a blessing her smile and positive outlook was. She had endless ongoing jokes with us, and her smile was infectious. She was never funny at anyone else’s expense ... a rare quality. My cousin Parker remembers that Momsie let him practice driving her car around the cemetery near her house because “she knew he couldn’t kill people who were already dead.”
Momsie was a woman of great character. She led a beautiful life, but it was not one void of pain and heartache. Her childhood was, at best, challenging. She faced devastating medical and personal struggles with her daughters and grandchildren many times over. She was a widow at 69 after losing her husband to sudden and absolutely unexpected death. But in the face of all these things, Momsie was never, in my memory, bitter, angry, negative, or hurtful. She was honest and pragmatic; she was generous and kind. I have been overwhelmed by how many very unexpected people have commented on her kindness and gentle spirit. She had the rare quality of making whoever was in front of her in the moment feel like the most important person in the room. She taught me that people – all people -- are valuable and that what they have to say is worth listening to.
This quality played out in very real ways in her role as a grandmother. In talking about her this week, my sister Bev remembered Momsie as a grandmother who wasn’t afraid to engage each of us as who we were, and she wasn’t afraid to have fun. In simple terms, she wasn’t “old.” When Parker was a rambunctious little boy, Momsie let him tie her to a tree on her property as his “prisoner.” When, as a teenager, Bev decided to get a second hole pierced in her ears, Momsie not only went with her, she got a second hole pierced, too. She later let it close, but she was there with Bev in the moment. She was a confidant to us, offering consistently wise and uplifting counsel -- a rare combination of experience, wisdom, and friend. She believed that children and young people are invaluable, precious, and to be fully enjoyed.
Her grandchildren’s admiration of and devotion to her was evident last weekend. When we received word that her health was rapidly declining, all five grandchildren packed up ourselves, our families (including seven children ages 4 and under), got in cars and boarded planes, and gathered at her side. She was characteristically thrilled to see every one of us, expressing concern about how we were doing even as she lay struggling for each breath. It was a sweet, and somewhat rowdy, time for all of us to be together and simply enjoy each other’s company. These are the times Momsie loved most.
Momsie was truly a prayer warrior. Every time any of her family members were traveling some distance by car or air, she was praying. When any of us had a big decision to make, she was praying. If any of us was ill, she was praying. She prayed about big things, she prayed about small things. She always said, “I don’t worry; I pray.” I am not sure that she didn’t worry, but I am sure that she did pray. As I thought about her over the few past days, I became very sad that I no longer live in a world where my grandmother is praying for me. Until she was gone, I had not realized how integral the knowledge of her prayers had become to my very identity. But then the Lord reminded me of Hebrews 12:1, which says, “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also (
A)lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us (
B)run with (
C)endurance the race that is set before us.”
I realized that Momsie is now part of that great cloud of witnesses. She is sitting in the stands of Heaven cheering all of us on and encouraging us to keep going in the face of grief, to keep going in the face of sadness, and to keep going in the face of the unknown. Along with deep joy and abounding love, she faced much grief, sadness, and many unknowns in her life, but she finished her race with a strength of spirit and of love that virtually overshadowed the weakness of her body.
My grandmother loved Jesus with every fiber of her being, and that love for her Lord overflowed into the lives of everyone she met, of every life she touched. She was not just a “positive” person or an “up” person; she was a woman who knew who she was, because she knew who her God was. She lived each day of her adult life quietly walking in step with Him, seeking His will and looking to the day when she would no longer see “a poor reflection as in a mirror [but would] …see face to face.” She will be deeply missed, but we rejoice with her today as she is where she was always meant to be. I look forward to seeing her again one day not so very far away.
Again, a smattering photos from the past couple of weeks. Several of these are from one evening at bedtime. Ella usually gets really wired right before bed, so she is super silly. Easton has been joining in the fun lately -- he just started crawling, so he can keep up with Ella a little more. Add Macy to the mix and it's a wonder we ever get ANYONE to bed around here! (Don't miss the pic of Ella and the pink blanket -- Easton is under there!)
