Granny’s Deteriorating Condition

7-45am

On Wednesday this week I received a phone call from the doctor at the Ladies Christian Home where Granny is staying.  She explained that Granny has a suspicious lump on her chest. I thought it was a breast lump until I went to see her yesterday. I had called and spoken to the Sister on duty who said Gran was very frail & they had decided to keep her in bed for the day. So I got in my car and went to see her.  They showed me the lump, which was far worse than I imagined. I was thinking it would be the size of a marble. Instead it is almost the size of a golf ball! It does not look good. It bulges out of the skin, just over her breast bone.  Granny has deteriorated drastically over the last few weeks. She hardly says a word & seldom responds. She seems to just stare at me. Yesterday I sat with her for an hour, filed her nails and fed her lunch. She can no longer feed herself.  After I had filed the nails on one hand, I asked her to pass me her other hand. She didn’t respond.  She ate all her lunch though!

Granny in 2009

Mike has spoken to his sister, Monica,  about what to do. Most people have said, ‘do nothing.’  Mike & I leave for a month long holiday in just over 6 weeks time. So we have decided we will do nothing about the lump until the New Year. Then we will reassess. It may come to pass that Granny doesn’t live that long. We will have to make a decision as to what to do if she should pass away while we are away. This is reality. Granny has had a long life. She is ready to go from this life to the next. It will be a blessing for her when that journey is made. For us, it will be bitter-sweet. Bitter,  because death is never easy. Sweet, because for her, life has come.

Psalm 116:15 Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his faithful servants.

And she has been faithful. The Lord knows when that will be. These things cannot be rushed. It’s not about here & now. We stand suspended in time. 2013. Every breath we take is one closer to the end of our lives as we know them. Every moment we live, we are spending on a journey that will end crossing the great divide between two worlds… one where decay reigns and the next where there is no death or suffering. The days fly by, but they are made up of seconds and minutes. Each one counts. I think this all becomes very apparent the older we get. When we are young, we are building up, gathering, planting and growing. Now that I am 48, I am looking around me and saying, ‘let’s get rid of stuff!’ ‘Let’s simplify.’ ‘Let’s scale down.’ We see more clearly what is important and what is not. Time is short! I only have another 40 years left, or more if God allows! Time to make the most of every opportunity!

Meantime, we visit Granny as often as we can. I am going to try and get to see her again this morning.  I hope you have a great Sunday!

God bless you loads!

In His Grip,

Helga xx 🙂