Letter to Abuelita

Today I'm just offering thanks to God for a few major things.

Firstly, for being the fair, loving, just Judge and Lord that He is. He gave all of us the chance to come to Him and love Him, and whether or not everyone takes that opportunity, the fact that He gives it is something to praise Him for.

Secondly, I'm thanking Him for giving me almost 33 years with my grandma. She's just passed away, and I have more memories with her that I can imagine. I miss her so much right now. But to have known her and loved her, I know I've been blessed. She helped make me into the person I am today. And we ALL know that she knew and lived for Christ, but I also know that she had one of the biggest pieces of my heart and always will.... and I'm just trusting her to Christ and thanking God for her....  there are three things that stand out to me as part of her enduring legacy:

1. Love for Christ. Grandma’s love for the Lord Jesus was never personal or private, as many in our modern liberal culture would like to keep it. She was always and forever an influencer. I can’t remember a single time I was around her when she wasn’t encouraging, exhorting, or urging me and others toward faith and obedience to Christ. The words of the Bible rolled off her tongue with ease. She prayed relentlessly for her kids and grandkids, all the family, and for the people she knew. And many of us are the fruit of those prayers. Grandma’s faith was never religious, dutiful, or pious. It was vibrant and living and worshipful. And in her later years, when the more complex aspects of her health had faded, her joyful faith in Jesus remained.

2. Cheerfulness. “A cheerful heart has a continual feast” (Proverbs 15:15). She was perpetually cheerful, joyful, and sunny. The glass was always half full and there was a reason for everything.

3. Pride. I mean the good kind – a sanctified pride in her love for Jesus, family, and friends. Growing up as a kid with that kind of a grandmother had a way of...