One Foot In Heaven
This morning as I groped for my coffee cup in the half-wakefulness of a new day’s start, I spotted a shiny penny atop the obituary that had been left lying on the kitchen counter last night. As I reached for the copper coin, my eyes fell on the photo of my beautiful grandmother now in Glory. And, because at our house pennies spark gratitude, I dropped the penny in our little praise jar and I spoke aloud to the One who called out the sun this morning and pulled me from bed with a promise of renewed strength.
“Thank you that there’s more to life than this.” I looked around my never-ending mess—at the piles of unfolded laundry waiting expectantly at the top of the stairs, the pizza crust crumbs huddled beneath the kitchen table, the stacks of mail towering high on the counters—and I longed to peel back the veil that separates my world from Grandma’s and glimpse the more.
When my straining eyes failed to spy a keyhole to Heaven, I curled up in my favorite chair and peered through the window of the Word. I read about Enoch who “walked with God.” And I thought of my sweet grandma who had done the same.
When Enoch was 65 years old, he became the father of Methuselah. After the birth of Methuselah, Enoch lived in close fellowship with God for another 300 years, and he had other sons and daughters. Enoch lived 365 years, walking in close fellowship with God. Then one day he disappeared, because God took him.Genesis 5:22-23.
I was sitting on the porch swing right outside of Grandma’s room when God took her home. Like Enoch, she had walked faithfully with her Savior. Flanked by my children, I received the news with a mixture of sadness and joy. Though her years had numbered ninety-five, it seemed that she had been here one moment and gone the next.
After one last squeeze of the hands that had never hesitated to hold mine, I left my grandma’s bedside and returned to the porch to wait for my sister’s arrival. I had called her on my way to the hospice house to let her know that Grandma might be gone before she could close the gap on the sixty miles between us. “Grandma’s got one foot here and one foot in Heaven,” I’d explained, unaware that young ears were listening.
Once my sister had arrived and we’d exchanged murmurs and hugs, I gathered my morose troupe and motioned them out the door. Josh took one final glance at his great grandmother’s earthly form before following me quietly to the parking lot. As we drove away from the hospice house, I processed the events of the afternoon aloud with my kids. We talked candidly about life and death and explored the thoughts that were rolling through my children’s minds after their great grandma’s departure.
We were pulling into our driveway when Josh finally spoke. “I’m glad I got to see the old grandma one more time. Except I didn’t see her foot.”
A blanket had covered Grandma from chest to toe the entire time we’d been there.
“Honey,” I explained. “Grandma’s feet were under the blankets. Just like your feet are when you go to sleep in your bunk bed every night.”
“No, Mom,” Josh replied with utmost seriousness. “Her foot was missing.”
Shocked by his strange declaration, I glanced at my littlest boy in the rear view mirror and tried to figure out what in the world my four-year-old was talking about. He sighed and explained in a patronizing voice, “Mo-om, one of her foots was already in Heaven.”
I laughed out loud and savored the divine detour from our grief.
Josh raised his eyebrow and shook his head. “It doesn’t matter, Mom,” he reminded me. “Grandma’s got her new body now.”
“Yes,” I said with a smile, “And I’m sure she’s already using those new feet to dance with Grandpa on streets of gold.”
Bible scholar Matthew Henry writes: “The Holy Spirit, instead of saying, Enoch lived, says, Enoch walked with God. This was his constant care and work; while others lived to themselves and the world, he lived to God. It was the joy of his life…The true Christian’s steady walk in holiness, through many a year, till God takes him, will best recommend that religion which many oppose and many abuse.”
My grandmother walked like Enoch, one step at a time, until her faith became sight. I want to walk like that, too. And when my hike through this world is done, I hope I am remembered as a woman who lived with one foot in Heaven and one foot on earth until God called both feet home.
The Overflow: You’re blessed when you stay on course, walking steadily on the road revealed by God. You’re blessed when you follow his directions, doing your best to find him. That’s right—you don’t go off on your own; you walk straight along the road he set. You, God, prescribed the right way to live; now you expect us to live it. Oh, that my steps might be steady, keeping to the course you set… Psalm 119:1, The Message
The Overflow: You’re blessed when you stay on course, walking steadily on the road revealed by God. You’re blessed when you follow his directions, doing your best to find him. That’s right—you don’t go off on your own; you walk straight along the road he set. You, God, prescribed the right way to live; now you expect us to live it. Oh, that my steps might be steady, keeping to the course you set… Psalm 119:1, The Message
Okay, this made me tear up! That was a beautiful post! Your grandmother is smiling in heaven! She left tough footprints to follow..and you have surpassed it all! =) If there is anyone who lives with one foot in heaven and one foot on earth…it is YOU!!!