Preparing a place

So, my wife and I are making preparations to move my grandmother from San Diego, CA to Kirkland, WA to live with us. She is legally blind and wheelchair bound. She requires 24 hour a day care. She is one of the most beautiful people I have ever had the pleasure of knowing in my lifetime. I began thinking today about what makes my grandmother so special. I came up with quite a bit as I thought through the experiences she created for me growing up. My grandmother (and grandfather) was always there for my family no matter what challenges we were dealing with at the time. They always had and open door. My family lived with my grandparents in Oxnard, CA on and off as we were growing up. We also visited my grandparents often when we were not living there. My grandmother was always in a cheerful mood when us kids were around. No matter how she was feeling inside, how sick she might be, how much pain she might be experiencing from an accident or something, she was always cheerful. Prior to our visits, my grandmother would always have something prepared for us kids. I remember that she use to keep the Star Wars cards, that came in loaves of bread back then, aside for us and would set them out on the coffee table in the living room so that we would see them as soon as we arrived. There was always something special waiting for us when we visited my grandma's house. The entire time we were at my grandmothers house, whether just visiting or living there, she would get up early every morning and make breakfast special for each of the kids. Anything you wanted, she would prepare. Games were also something my grandmother enjoyed a lot and we spent hours upon hours playing "Pollyanna", Dominoes, and various other board games and card games. She simply loved to spend time with us. She has always been a beautiful person. my wife and I truly feel blessed to have her come and live with us. Although we know it will be challenging for us, we trust that God will guide us as we move down this path.

We live in a two-story home and all of the bedrooms are upstairs. We are converting our formal dining area and formal living room area into a suite for my grandmother. We are also taking out the existing "powder room" and expanding that space to include a shower with full handicap access. We never really used the formal dining and living room areas for their intended purpose. My wife uses the dining area for her scrapbooking stuff (and believe me, there is a ton of it!) and our kids use the living room area as a playroom. We are converting part of our garage into a space for these two activities to live in after my grandmother is here. We are preparing a place that we believe will be most comfortable for her and allow her to live out the rest of her many years with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren in peace.

In thinking through all of these experiences, I can help but turn to God. I have prayed quite a bit about this significant event in our lives and constantly feel God's blessing on me and my family. As my grandmother always prepared a special for us to go when we were younger, we now are preparing a special place for her to go. As my grandmother made many personal sacrifices in life to ensure her grandchildren were comfortable and happy, we will make sacrifices in our own lives to ensure she is comfortable and happy. Because of the life my grandmother lived and the love and grace she showered my family with, we feel blessed to have her as part of our household.

In all of this I know that God has prepared a special place for all of use to go when that time comes. Our heavenly father is setting aside all the Star Wars cards and making sure there are plenty of games for us to play when we step in to his kingdom. Jesus Christ made the ultimate sacrifice in his life to ensure we were comfortable and happy. As we live our lives, its absolutely important for us to shower those in need with love, grace and kindness. To make our Father proud as he welcomes us in to his house.