A Real Independence Day

There are moments on this trip when I feel very far away from home. This is one of those moments. My Aunt Gert has been gravely ill and this morning I got word she is now in Heaven. This is her Independence Day.

Aunt Gert loved and served the Lord faithfully. She was also a loving wife and the mother of seven children. She was a warm and caring woman who continually gave herself to others. I have been blessed by her impact on my life.

When I was young I was always welcomed in her home and loved being there. I have wonderful childhood memories of fun and family gatherings on their farm.

I remember one time staying overnite during spring cleaning and she let us ride the mattresses down the stairsteps. How cool was that!

I can remember baking cakes with her in her kitchen - lots of cakes! And we had to put fluoride drops in our milk each morning.

Music and singing were always encouraged in her home. She loved the piano and loved to sing.

She enjoyed our creative spurts and generously contributed props and costumes to the endless programs we would invent. And then she would faithfully stop to watch these productions, I'm sure, at very inopportune moments.

I guess she just treated me as her own and I loved that. Every child loves that.

And thru my chids eyes I watched her endure the most painful experience a mother can - her oldest son killed in war. Yet her faith stood firm, her Foundation sure because it is Christ...and I watched.

She was at all the major events of my life as I grew up and got married. She has always enjoyed my family - rejoiced with us as each of our children were born, as they graduated, with each wedding, and even the birth of our grandson.

Family is a rich blessing to be surrounded by throughout your life. I was blessed.

She loved our country and was fiercely patriotic. We shared that passion and she was a great supporter and encourager of what I do. She often came to hear me speak and would always tell me how proud she was of me. That meant a lot to me.

Her great challenge for the last year and a half has been physical dealing with the ravages of a debilitating stroke - a body that was now limited and would not cooperate, often in pain, sometimes fluctuating between confusion and clarity. Thru all of this her faith remained strong. She continued to worship and enjoy the Word of God, and she loved it when you took a moment to pray with her. She had a keen sense that she belonged elsewhere and longed for her true home.

And she has not been disappointed in any way. Heaven has freed her completely and she is with her Savior in complete independence - she is free from sin, she is free from death, she is free from pain, she is free from sorrow. She now knows complete freedom on this her first day in heaven. What an Independence Day!