Julia Koeman

It was one week ago that we celebrated the life and death of my Grandma Koeman.  This wasn't a heartbreaking time for me. . . although there is something very about my last grandparent dying.  It means that my folks are part of the next generation and I don't like that!
I loved seeing cousins, aunts and uncles.  I have a wonderful and rich history with the Koeman family, one that I don't take lightly.  They are a significant part of my growing up.  I learned to ride a bike while camping with them.  I learned from and loved my cousin Julie so very much--we were one year apart and she taught me tons--even how to become a good kisser by practicing on an orange.  We loved cutting down our Christmas tree on the Saturday after Thanksgiving and then having cookies and hot chocolate afterwards.  Picnics at Teusinks Pony Farm, Christmas at Uncle Jack and Aunt Joyce (great toys!), Uncle Keith and Aunt Marla took care of my sister and I when Kevin was born, planting corn with Grandpa, chatting about baking with Grandma, skiing in Colorado with Uncle Ted, hearing Uncle Ken preach. . . oh man do I love this family.  Guess what? We have flaws.  I know--you are so shocked that a family might not be perfect.  Funerals tend to bring out rose colored glasses and Grandma was not an exception to this.
As the bell rang one time for every year of her life (95--it took awhile!) I counted and marked her years.  At specific intervals I'd lean over to Gary and whisper "This is when Dad was born.  This is when Mom and Dad got married.  This is when Grandpa died. This is when we got married right here in this church."  He might have been a little annoyed.  Then again, he chocked on a Mento and distracted everyone with his coughing fit.  When I realized he would be fine, a mento aint' gonna take down my man!, then I had to try and conceal my laughter as Gary tried to quiet his loud hacking.  I also had to conceal my laughter when I received a note from my brother Kevin asking me if I could eat anything right now what would it be.  Kevin will often pass notes down during church.  He is also a bad person to sit by during prayer--we hold hands when we pray and Kevin does not hold a hand very nicely!  The service was 95 minutes long (Uncle Ken announced that we owed her one minute for every year of her life), so the chuckles were a welcome diversion.

Writing about the funeral is not my intent.  Surprising since I just spent quite the number of words talking about it.  The funeral was great.  It was the visitation that was our Holy Moment.  I don't get Holy Moments every day.  I'm writing about it to celebrate it and give glory to God and so that I can remember it.

The visitation was from 1-3 and 6-8.  Gary and I took our kids at 5:00.  We wanted to be there without any other folks around.  We wanted to focus on our kids and answer their questions.  We spent about 20 minutes at the church.  We loved talking about Grandma and how she was in heaven.  They asked about her body and if they could touch it.  They did.  It felt stiff and we talked about why that was.  They would run around and then return to the casket for another question.  Questions also arose about Grandpa Larry (Gary's dad) which I was so thankful for.  They didn't get see his body.  Before we left I stood at the casket and grieved and thanked God for this woman who raised my father and was a sweet Grandma to me.  She is part of my chain to Jesus.  She is part of the reason why I am a believer.  Garrison, my sensitive soul, struggled at this point and we cried together.

Soon the others came and we laughed and cried.  I love that God has placed me with these kids and we could share Grandma's and our belief in Jesus Christ with them.  I also liked it that I could comfort my kids but also receive comfort from them.  They need to know that they can take care of me too.  I'm also thankful that Gary grabbed the camera and captured my heart.  It was so thoughtful of him.

We left by saying "see you in heaven Grandma Koeman!" and exited.  I hugged Gary with tears in my eyes and said "That was awesome.  Our kids did great and they learned and asked great questions.  God is so cool that He made this happen.  Yeah?"  And yet I didn't know that I hadn't even reached the Holy Moment yet.
We got into the car, but before we could leave Gary and I heard our Simon's voice from the back say "I think we should pray."  We named him Simon because we want him to be like Simon Peter and have the courage to get out of the boat--to be a leader, to take risks, to stand up for the Lord.  Here is my Simon getting out of his boat.  "What do we need to pray about Simon?"  "We need to pray that Grandma enjoys heaven and we need to tell God that we will see her again someday.  I'll pray."  And then we heard two more voices "I'll pray too."  "I'll pray after Noel."  My eyes filled up again as we bowed and one by one my kids prayed.  They told God they were so excited to see Him someday.  They asked that He enjoy spending time with Grandma Koeman.  They thanked Him for Jesus because without Jesus we couldn't go to heaven.  Oh how my heart was just bursting all over the place!  This is it!  This is my greatest hope and dream and prayer for my kids--that they love Jesus and accept him as their Savior.  Each one professed their faith.  After Garrison closed with his Amen, Simon announced that it was time for a parent to pray.  I look up at Gary with tears streaming down my face and gave him the nod that said "you need to do it because I'm too weepy".  He prayed.  I smiled as I looked up at Gary afterwards and then I heard my son's voice again from the back "Mom, now it is your turn."  I huge grin broke out on my face and I was secretly thankful that my son wasn't going to let me get away without praying--even if I was crying.  I prayed and then we clapped because we are all going to go to heaven someday.  Yeah!

Holy Moments.  Thank you God.