For Nanny

Ninety Years. What a blessing. Most of us can only hope to live that long. That’s why today should be a day of celebration. Celebration of a long, happy life. Saying goodbye is never easy, but this is just the beginning for Nanny

She’s probably been waiting years to meet her Savior and I know she’s been looking forward to being with her husband again. Those are the things we should think about today.

It’s so cliche to say that she’s in a better place, but she really is. The best part about knowing where she is, is knowing that someday I’ll be with her again too. Because God gave me and you that option when He gave up His Son for us. To want her here again would be selfish.

Funerals are hard in general, but Nanny’s has the opportunity to be different. Unfortunately, I have been to a young person’s funeral, and those are the worst because you know it’s not fair they died so soon. But Nanny lived a long, wonderful life. I feel kind of unqualified to even be speaking right now because I’ve only known her for twenty years. Twenty out of her ninety. But in my twenty years I learned a lot from her just by observing the way she lived. She always had a smile on her face. She made it seem effortless too, but I think that is because her smile came from within. She was such a sweet and beautiful person, inside and out. Maybe she just smiled at me a lot because she thought I looked funny... Nah. She was definitely just happy.

That’s probably what I’ll miss most about her: the way her happiness could effect me just by looking at her. I’ll also miss some of the hilarious things she said. I’ll never forget when she told me that Bill Clinton was a great president, even though he “slept with that woman.” Oh and how she used to make fun of Oprah. And the time I ate so much chocolate she told me I was going to get acne.

But what amazes me the most about Nanny is not actually a memory at all, but the love she passed down from generation to generation. It shows in the people sitting here today. Mamaw (or Joyce) and Jan are two incredibly caring individuals. They wouldn’t be who they are without their parents. Nanny’s impact on her family certainly showed last night [the previous night would have been calling hours at the funeral home] and in the past couple of days with the outpouring of support from friends. Nanny’s love and kindness has been reciprocated to us by friends in her absence. And her love will always be with us. Because love never dies.

Ninety years. What a blessing. Saying goodbye is never easy, but this is just the beginning.