"You never know what you have until it's gone." Truth is, you did, you just never thought you'd lose it.

6 years ago today, I lost my grandmother (we called her Ghia). I was 12 when she passed away, but let's rewind one year before that, so 7 years ago. I was 11 years old, sitting in Ghia's living room talking to her while everyone else (sisters and cousins) were outside playing around. I sat and sat, listening to Ghia tell me about this picture. It was a simply beautiful photo of Cape Cod; one of the most beautiful photos I've seen in my life. She proceeded to tell me all about that vacation she took to Cape Cod (she traveled all the time). After we got done talking about the photo she had taken, she showed me a Billy Graham TV Special flyer, with the TV special being titled "The Coming Storm" and on the back of that flyer was a photo. The photo was of Cape Cod, at the exact same angle Ghia had taken the photo in. My exact words, "wow, you're a pro!" Note: she was not a photographer by any means. She just loved to travel and document her travels.

Now, I look at the Billy Graham flyer, and on the photo of Cape Cod (the Billy Graham one) it has the Bible verse "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble." -Psalm 46:1.


Where am I going with this? Well, as I look at this tonight, I see a photo that has changed my life. Why did my grandmother choose me, out of 7 grandchildren to talk to? She knew.

A year later, she was diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumor, a Glioblastoma-which was "The Coming Storm" in my life, that I didn't see coming.

October 4th, I came home from school, just like normal. However, I knew something was wrong, we had a family friend come to the house to help my dad break the news to us. In the next 58 days, I'd spend the night at numerous people's houses and go to school, just to find myself writing things down to remember my grandmother by (I was heavily into poetry when I was in 7th grade). On November 29, 2005 I was checked out of school by another family friend, and I sprinted out of my math class and just took what I had with me. I knew it was time.

We got to my grandmother's house, she was under hospice care by this time. We told her that it was okay, and that she could go be with Jesus, but it turned out it wasn't her time. However, on December 1, 2005 at 5am, my dad woke me and my sisters up (we had spent the night at Ghia's house). The whole family gathered around her and at 5:08am as the hospice nurse handed my mother the Stethoscope, my mom heard my grandmother's last heart beat. As we stood watching the heart monitor turn to 0, we stood in awe as we watched this amazing woman of God, see her Jesus. And as her pained face turned to a smile, we all knew she was happy.

About two weeks later, on the way to a Christmas party at someone's house, my mom handed me something she found at my grandmother's house (they'd been cleaning it out). It was the picture of Cape Cod, and on the back, it read "Give to Anna Malone." That was the only thing in her house that was specified to give to anyone inparticular.

I often find myself asking, why did she talk to me? I always get the same answers...It's a God thing. Thank you, Ghia.

I will admit, I never thought I'd lose my grandmother, but I know she's in a better place, and she's smiling down on my whole family right now. We love and miss you terribly!