Hey Reader!

When my grandmother was dying from Alzheimer's, I went to sit with her and hold her hand and say goodbye.

She had held such a special place in my life. So many of my most precious memories come from time she spent with me and love she gave.

From sitting on a swing and her saying, "You're Keeley and you're special," when I was 7 and moving from the only home I'd known and processing my parents' divorce, to needlepointing with her and seeing her put so much time and care into the work she did. She showed that same attention and love to each person she met.

When her own mother was dying in a nursing home, she regularly took us with her to visit. And instead of being repulsed by the moaning and wailing patients in the hallways (like my 8-year-old self was), she was happy, chipper, speaking to everyone and honoring the dignity of each person she walked passed.

She taught me how to love and care for those who were older and dying.

And so as she declined, I wanted to honor what she'd shown me by showing her that same love and care.

My 25-year-old self struggled though. It was hard to see the once-vibrant woman decline. It was hard to talk in circles with her having the same conversation over and over.

But I loved her. And she had loved me.

And so I visited even when others stopped. Because she would always have a special place in my heart.

I loved that even when she didn't remember who I was, she would still light up and smile when she saw me. I always felt that her soul knew me, even if her memory had forgotten me.

And so, as she literally lay there dying, we came to say goodbye. I sat with her, I prayed with her. I held her hand, I loved her. I told her it was okay to say goodbye and to go and be with Jesus.

At a loss for my own words, I had been preparing for a Bible Study teaching on Revelation 1, and so I read to her the glorious vision of Christ there in Revelation (see "Verse of the Week" below). I teared up and choked up as I realized she would soon get to experience the reality of being with Jesus. I didn't realize how relevant that passage would be for her as she was leaving this life.

I told her to go and be with Jesus, our amazing savior, and that I would see her again.

It can sometimes be hard to understand how the stories in the Bible relate to our day-to-day lives. Certainly with a book like Revelation, we can think it's only about the future. And there's great hope in that future, but there's also a truth for today.

So I want to encourage you to spend time reading scripture and learning and thinking about how it relates to your day-to-day life. How does God's big picture impact the small picture of your daily grind?

Take a moment now to reflect before you scroll on...

Blessings to you,

Keeley

P.S. Want to see how Revelation 1 reveals an even more amazing picture of Jesus that gives hope and comfort for the heartache you might be feeling right now? Explore more here.

Verse of the Week

“ ¹³and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. ¹⁴The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, ¹⁵his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. ¹⁶In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.” - Revelation 1:13-16 ESV

See the golden picture of Jesus on my Revelation 1 study below in the "Related Posts" section. I was looking for an image that really encapsulated what Revelation says Jesus looks like, and this one matches word for word. It is pretty amazing.

Take a moment and read the scripture and see how the image matches. It's a pretty amazing picture. If you're wondering where all the imagery came from (hint: it's deeply rooted in the Old Testament), check out my post on Revelation 1: Revealing Christ.

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