Cold Morning on the Farm

Morning Branch, originally uploaded by kellydavisgt.

My grandmother, Mastine, passed away last thursday. It came quickly, and without warning. She was 78, and had been married 58 years to Big D. The last time i saw her was Christmas. We got to her house late one night, and i hugged her neck, and went right to bed. The next morning, i woke up to her laugh. I walked downstairs, and she was sitting at the kitchen table with Dad and Big D. This was a familiar scene from my childhood. I remember walking down the stairs, and opening the door to see Mom, Dad, Mastine and Big D drinking coffee, conversing, and most of all, laughing. Mastine's laugh, as many mentioned at the visitation, was one of her defining qualities. Her laugh was amazing. It made you feel welcome, and invited you to join in. I cannot remember the particulars of what we talked about that morning, but i remember her laugh, and i remember that we sat and talked for what seemed like forever. We would talk for a while, and then someone would walk in sleepy-eyed. It is a sweet memory, and I thank God for the gift. How empty the kitchen seemed the morning I walked down those same stairs after her death. It is so strange to think that her spirit is somewhere so different. It makes me long to be with her, with Jesus; but then i think about my wife, about Kelly Davis Jr (I am trying to convince Misty on this name), and about how God is calling me to plant seeds for those who don't even know to seek, I realize the words of Paul, "To live is Christ, To Die is Gain". It scares me to think of loving Misty for 58 years, and to wake up one morning alone. But i realize, for those who lean on Christ, that he will never leave or forsake us, and that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ; neither life, nor death.