Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
Born of His spirit, washed in His blood.
This is my story, this is my song.
Praising my savior, all the day long!
This is my story, this is my song.
Praising my savior, all the day long
~Fanny Crosby
My Grandma Schoon passed away last Saturday, and how fitting that she wanted this song at her funeral. My grandma had struggled with glaucoma for as long as I could remember, eventually losing her sight several years ago. Fanny Crosby, the author of this hymn, was also blind. Yet like Grandma, she could see clearly the love of our savior and the knowledge of spending eternity in heaven because of her faith in Jesus. One of my favorite lines is actually in the second verse: "Perfect submission, perfect delight; visions of rapture now burst on my sight!" I can't imagine how glorious the moment was when Grandma opened her eyes in heaven that first time to look upon the face of her savior! That thought makes the sadness of her being gone so much easier to bear.
Not only did Grandma ask for this song at her funeral, she also asked that Ava be the one to sing it. Grandma and Ava had a pretty special relationship. We were blessed for a short time to have Grandma live with my parents, and we were only 15 minutes away. How I treasure that Grandma got to hold my babies and know them, she even made the trip to the hospital when Luke was born. 
One of Ava's favorite places at mom and dad's was on Grandma's lap. They spent hours snuggling and singing together. Ava loves to be rubbed, and for those of you who knew Grandma, it is not suprising she was always more than happy to oblige. So Ava sang "Blessed Assurance" for Grandma one more time at the family memorial service. It was so sweet, and she was so brave. (She later told me it was the bravest thing in her life!) Now when I say family memorial service, you must understand the size of crowd I am talking about: Grandma had 8 children, 20 grandchildren, 31 great-grandchildren, and 1 great-great grandchild, not including spouses! And almost everyone was there, including 2 of Grandma's brothers and some of her nieces and nephews. We are quite a crew, and a testament to what amazing people my grandparents were.
One of Ava's favorite places at mom and dad's was on Grandma's lap. They spent hours snuggling and singing together. Ava loves to be rubbed, and for those of you who knew Grandma, it is not suprising she was always more than happy to oblige. So Ava sang "Blessed Assurance" for Grandma one more time at the family memorial service. It was so sweet, and she was so brave. (She later told me it was the bravest thing in her life!) Now when I say family memorial service, you must understand the size of crowd I am talking about: Grandma had 8 children, 20 grandchildren, 31 great-grandchildren, and 1 great-great grandchild, not including spouses! And almost everyone was there, including 2 of Grandma's brothers and some of her nieces and nephews. We are quite a crew, and a testament to what amazing people my grandparents were.How grateful I am to have such a heritage. So many memories have come flooding back the past weeks; I will post about those another time. How thankful I am knowing Grandma is in heaven, and for having my own blessed assurance that I will see her again!
3 comments:
So proud of Ava; it was a very special time.
I don't think I'll ever sing that hymn again without hearing her sweet little voice. I think we were all amazed and proud of her. Grandma was one special lady and it seems that everyone who knew her thought so. How blessed we are to have had her in our lives.
I'm pretty sure I'll never sing Blessed Assurance now without thinking of Grandma & your sweet little Ava. That was certainly brave!! I'm sure Grandma and Grandpa were both smiling :) We are certainly blessed with an incredible legacy.
Great to see you guys, even for a short time!
Post a Comment