Fare Thee Well

She lies in her bed, struggling to draw breath. The recent car accident – a head-on collision – has taken its toll on her 97-year-old body. Tense days in the ICU followed, hooked up to a respirator while doctors shook their heads, but she’s home now. Or at least, back in the senior care facility thats been her home these past few years.

Her grand-daughter Diane stops by to bring her roses and welcome her back from the hospital. She can’t help but notice the discomfort her grandmother is obviously in.

“Grandma,” she asks softly, “would you like me to pray for you?”

Despite her difficulty breathing, she nods her head and says, “Yes, please pray.”

Diane prays for a few minutes, and then looks at her grandmother’s struggle to breathe, to hold on to life. “Grandma? Why don’t you just relax, and go to Jesus?”

Closing her eyes, she peacefully does just that.


Today, I’m in the GTA (Greater Toronto Area), serving as a pallbearer at my grandmothers funeral. Her faith journey is a remarkable one, and the number of people at the funeral today were testimony to the lives she and my grandfather, who predeceased her in 1985, had touched.

The story of her last moments with my cousin Diane is the best telling of her passing. Let’s just leave it at that, and observe a moment of respectful silence for a woman of God, who is finally in the presence of the One she’s followed for over 90 years.

Good-bye, Grandma.

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