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Her Greatest Moment of Pride

It was almost as if the heartwarming laughter changed the temperature of the room. The air swirled with a new heat at each booming laugh and wrinkled smile. The air smelled of freshly cooked lasagna and bread brought to us by family and friends. Pictures were being passed around, and laughter filled the room as we shared stories of pranks pulled and holiday traditions that included Santa suits and reindeer poop.

We had all gathering at the family river cabin, drinking red wine, playing cards and singing lullabies that were once sung by Heaven’s newly gained angel. The reason for this occasion, gathering at the river cabin this week in Iowa, was because Dalton’s grandmother, Loretta, had passed. I have come to know her angelic smile as my own family over the last eight years, but on this special evening, I was able to be witness something miraculous.

On this night, if only for a few hours, I was removed from the loss and pain, and just saw beauty. In these moments of grief that swelled Dalton’s family like an ocean, it was difficult for me to imagine anything more beautiful than the love and support of a family experiencing great loss.

While I am confident everyone’s hearts were heavy, having lost my own grandmother just eight months prior, I am even more confident that the room radiated with simple joy and love. Brother and sisters, Dalton’s mom, and aunts and uncle, shared of the lullabies their mother used to sing at bedtime, her patient and loving heart and her precious hours spent at the beauty shop. Loretta’s husband, Grandpa George, shared of his sweet bride and their younger years, tears glistening off his cheek. While they shared these stories, I was amazed at this family. What a legacy that Loretta now gets to witness in heaven. While I imagine it was hard for Dalton’s family to feel anything other than loss at the passing of someone so special, I was simply in awe at the beautiful moment.

For a while, I imagined this is how Loretta must feel in Heaven. Her heart aches at the pain her family is experiencing, but she is so happy and joyous at what she has built. Her family had gathered together like warriors, ready and determined to hang on to the crazy carousel of life. This, I am confident, was Loretta’s greatest moment of pride.


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