Love and Faithfulness

I remember the shock I felt in the summer of 2006 when my parents told me they were moving to Southern California. They loved their life on the Central Coast. They were deeply committed to their church and community there. However, my parents explained they had been talking with Grandma and wanted to honor her request to be able to live the last season of her life in her own home. For my parents, this meant first making the move to Southern California and then moving in with Grandma about a year later.

My parents had no idea what timeline they were committing to when they made the decision to move.

There was financial cost involved in committing to Grandma’s care, especially as Grandma needed more and more assistance. Both Mom and Dad left jobs they loved and found jobs in Southern California they grew into (or retired out of for my Mom). They lived in Grandma’s space, downsizing to the point where they were getting rid of wedding gifts they had received over thirty years earlier. They left behind their closest friends and dove into the anonymity of Southern California.

There were great blessings in this season of life. Mom and Dad were able to invest in Grandma’s life in a way no one else was able to experience. They offered her care that likely extended her life. God provided them with a great church family in Southern California. This season has allowed Mom and Dad to be local for the birth of their first four grandchildren. Mom and Dad have been able to invest in so many people in the last eight years from EFCA to Biola to Huntington Beach EV Free to Restoration to friends they have known for over thirty years and most especially, their grandchildren.

The decision to care for Grandma in the last season of her life cost my parents and in ways they couldn’t have anticipated. Yet they faithfully walked out this decision. Through Mom’s cancer, through late night cries for help in the monitor, through the inclusion of caregivers, Mom and Dad stayed committed to Grandma, her request to finish her life in her home, and to the God who had invited them to this sacrificial living.

Before they even left the Central Coast, people had encouraged Mom and Dad to look into other options for Grandma. When Mom got sick and when Grandma’s care needs increased, people advised my parents to reconsider their decision to keep Grandma in her home. Yet nothing would sway my parents from their commitment to keep Grandma in her home, no matter the cost.

As I knelt by my Grandma’s bed and saw her life here come to an end, I was overwhelmed by the love and faithfulness my parents had lived out in the last eight years. “It is finished” came to mind. My parents had finished their covenant with Grandma so well.

In John 15:13-14, Jesus says, “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” This kind of love is costly. This kind of love is rare. When you see this kind of love, it overwhelms you. This is the love I have seen displayed in my parents as they served Grandma in the last eight years. This love overwhelmed me as they completed their task last Monday and held Grandma’s hands as she met Jesus.