I wrote this post last April, on Facebook.  The message for me is still timely, so I’ve given it a brush up to share more publicly here:

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Today would have been my Grandma Jones’ birthday, so in her honor, I have a story about her to share.   I have quite a lot of Grandma stories.  She was a midwife, a missionary, a bookkeeper, a mother, a prayer warrior, a gentle jokester, and an inspiration.  I was so fortunate to have her just across the street as I grew up, my roommate on family trips after my grandpa’s passing, and my encourager and confidante when I was out on my own.

Early in my grown-up life, just after grad school, I went through a big disappointment.  Funny enough, the details of the situation have long since grown fuzzy, although I do remember the general circumstance.  Knowing my heart was heavy, in her typical way Grandma found just the right words of encouragement, copied them out carefully, and tucked them in a card to send my way.  She had a habit of dating her notes, and this one was marked October 23, 1996.  The note brought some comfort, our prayers brought strength, and I managed to sail on into life.

I continued to pursue my career, changing jobs and moving to a different apartment. I had just hit my stride, so I thought, when another particularly crushing disappointment knocked me sideways.  I remember that one with great clarity; a job I wanted desperately and didn’t get.  The memorable part isn’t the unattained job, because the right jobs have come in the time they were meant to.   It was what happened a couple of weeks later while I was still struggling to move past my sadness.  I was meeting with a coworker at the office, and in the process of looking for some papers we needed to go over I lifted up my laptop, and time stood still.  There was Grandma’s note.  There was no “logical” reason it should have been there.  Years had gone by since I had received it.  I lived in a different home, worked at a different job, used a different computer bag.  Yet there it was, right in front of me, with so precisely the words I needed to read, and so powerful a reminder of my Heavenly Father’s love and my Grandma’s heart that I was completely overwhelmed.

I excused myself to try and pull myself together, and then I realized that I owed my startled coworkers an explanation.  So I shared with them; not about the un-won job, but about a Grandma’s compassion and a Savior’s love.  We shared goosebumps and a little hallelujah party.  We all come across snippets of scripture, moments of memory… flashes of inspiration, bits and pieces of whatever we’ve filed away in our hearts throughout life.  But I am completely confident this was a direct message from God and Grandma, who had taken up residence in Heaven not too long after she originally sent me the note.  I’m certain of the divine intention, because it didn’t just turn up again a “few years” after I received it.  It showed up under my laptop on October 23, 2002.   Six years to the day after Grandma first wrote the note.  Perfect timing, to remind me of His perfect peace.

Grandma’s note, in her handwriting with the date in the upper right corner.

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I’ve gone through much bigger sorrows since I first read that note, including the loss of loved ones both long-cherished and so briefly known.  I am glad to say the message has not faded, but is more timely and true than ever.  No matter our circumstance, He understands.