Grace and Hospitality

My great-aunt passed away yesterday. She had suffered for years with a disease called PPH. I don't really know what that stands for, but the bottom line was that her lungs were shutting down. She fell recently and just couldn't recover from the combination of the two.

She was the youngest of four children born to James and Lorene Maddux. She married John R. Groos, Jr. after graduating from high school and followed him during his tour in the Army. They eventually settled in Kyle, a little town outside of Austin, Texas. There they raised their only child, John R. Groos, III. She was a member of Kyle United Methodist Church and active in social group called Beta.

But those are just details, they don't tell the story of who Lora Jean Groos (or Annie to my family) was. She was the epitome of graciousness and hospitality. You couldn't walk in the door at her house without being offered something to eat or something to drink. I never spent one moment in her house that things were not in impeccable order. She loved animals and there were always cats and dogs running in and out of the house, but never did you see a stray hair or smell even a hint of an animal.

Somehow she managed to always make her house and clothing look fashionable. She put my decorating skills and wardrobe to shame. If I can come anywhere close to being the kind of homemaker and hostess that she was, I will feel as if I have truly accomplished something great.

The sad thing is I don't know that Annie was ever aware that I felt this way about her. She wouldn't have wanted me to brag on her, but I hope my actions conveyed how I really felt. How much I looked up to her in these areas, and how loved I felt when I was with her and Uncle John.

Losing Annie reminds me once again of what is important. Somehow it seems the little things keep us from spending time with the people we love. I don't want that. When I lose someone who takes a part of my heart with them, I don't want any regrets. I want to know that I did and said the things that were important.

Homesick by Mercy Me
(Listen instead: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvhrPMJe8LE)
You're in a better place, I've heard a thousand times
And at least a thousand times I've rejoiced for you
But the reason why I'm broken, the reason why I cry
Is how long must I wait to be with you
I close my eyes and I see your face
If home's where my heart is then I'm out of place
Lord, won't you give me strength to make it through somehow
I've never been more homesick than now
Help me Lord cause I don't understand your ways
The reason why I wonder if I'll ever know
But, even if you showed me, the hurt would be the same
Cause I'm still here so far away from home
I close my eyes and I see your face
If home's where my heart is then I'm out of place
Lord, won't you give me strength to make it through somehow
I've never been more homesick than now
In Christ, there are no goodbye
And in Christ, there is no end
So I'll hold onto Jesus with all that I have
To see you again
To see you again
And I close my eyes and I see your face
If home's where my heart is then I'm out of place
Lord, won't you give me strength to make it through somehow
Won't you give me strength to make it through somehow
Won't you give me strength to make it through somehow
I've never been more homesick than now