Selflessness & Love

Often this blog is filled with pictures of the kids, and the day to day happenings of life but this isn't such a post. Allow me to share just a bit of my heart and what I've been pondering lately...

My Grandma Struble, my mom's mom, was an amazing woman, she loved Jesus and she loved others. I only got to know her 27 years which was way too short but I picked up as much as I could in our time together. Recently a quilt she made has caused me to think about her life and her legacy of selflessness and love.

She was born and raised in the Ohio countryside and to this day all her family is still there. She grew up on a family farm and never went far from home except a brief fun stint in California as a single lady. By the sovereignty and goodness of God she crossed my Grandpa's path. I can't remember exactly how but they became pen pals while my Grandpa served in the war. After the war they met, he proposed, they married soon after and she made a big life changing move to Iowa. She left her family and all that she knew to follow the man she loved. She was selfless.

They were faithfully married for nearly 50 years when my Grandpa Struble became ill and needed 24 hour care. Grandma could no longer take care of him at home, but she didn't send him to the nursing home alone. She made the decision to move with the love of her life. She moved into the nursing home even when she really didn't need to be there just so they could be together. She sold off treasured possessions to make a new home with Grandpa in one small tiled room at the care center. She was selfless.

These are just two examples of the many I remember from her life. This quilt I sit wrapped up in reminds me of all of that. I have several of her quilts for which I am blessed but this one is my favorite. It isn't very fancy. It doesn't have elaborate stitching or gorgeous fabric but to me it is Grandma. The backing on the quilt is just a plain beige color, nothing fancy but it is soft and cozy. The front is covered in triangles of blue, red, yellow, green, purple, pink, basically any scraps Grandma could find. It doesn't match and there are a few places where it is torn and needs stitched up, but it is warm. And it reminds me of Grandma and the legacy of selflessness and love she left behind.

My kids will never have the chance to know her like I did. Sure, I can tell them stories and show them pictures but they will never get to hug her or feel her arthritic hand in theirs. They won't know the sound of her voice or the smell of her perfume. But, they do get to feel her love around them every time they wrap up in this cozy blanket and watch a movie or read a book. My Grandma knew Jesus, she knew Him pretty darn well, and I know she is with Him now. When I wrap this quilt around Ellie while she plays with her toys I am reminded of Grandma's selflessness and love. And when Riley crawls under it along with me to watch a movie I am reminded again of her selflessness and love.

It's funny how an old broken in quilt can remind me of such wonderful and humbling things and prompts me to think about what kind of legacy I will leave behind for my children and my children's children.