“I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— ² for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. ³ This is good, and pleases God our Savior, ⁴ who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. ⁵ For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, ⁶ who gave himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the proper time. ⁷ And for this purpose I was appointed a herald and an apostle—I am telling the truth, I am not lying—and a true and faithful teacher of the Gentiles.” 1 Timothy 2:1-7

Not all people have the opportunity to know the grandparents of their spouse before the meet their spouse, but I did. Granny Judy has been a faithful member of my church as long as I can remember and when Clif and his immediate family moved to East Tennessee, we met at our church. As a child and a young adult, we often forget that all grandparents begin their lives as children and young adults. They live – not just with gray hair, but truly live. They have full teenage and adult lives. They make mistakes and suffer great heartache. Granny Judy was no different. There are many moments of life I know she would’ve have taken back and changed. I know because she told us often. Her journey was anything but easy – but through it all, she grew in faith.

One of my earliest memories of growing in my own faith happened around age 16. Every Sunday, a small group of people would gather in our Pastor’s office for prayer before the services would begin. Granny Judy was always there. I listened to her pray. I watched her pray. I heard her tears for people and our community. I felt the presence of God in her midst. She led with a sweet, gentle spirit – that I am constantly praying for myself to magically appear. She loved greatly. She was faithful to her family and to her church.

Even as the years of dementia took over and life’s tragedies impacted her mind, she always smiled and loved well. I am blessed that my children have known and experienced a life with Granny Judy. And may we all take a lesson out of her playbook – kindness and love above all else; life is short – make sure the important things are truly the important things.