Grandma + Jesus

A Tribute 
Jeanne Wanberg
November 08, 1925- October 21, 2013

Sweet friends,

Full of humor, vibrant and active - about to turn 88 years of age, my grandma Jeanne died last night. She was a grand lady, with a sharp mind, full of wisdom, humor and grace. A few days ago my cousin Elizabeth and her baby Caleb were swimming together with Grandma, and she said, "I'm feeling great, I'm full of joy and  plan to live until I'm 100 years old".   She woke up very short of breath yesterday morning with symptoms of pneumonia.  Upon arrival at the hospital in Illinois, she was immediately admitted her to the ICU.  They felt confident that she was stable, with the pneumonia in check, when her heart stopped beating about 6 pm last night. One of our biggest praises to the Lord is that she died quickly, without any apparent pain & with complete peace.

Interestedly, our whole Denver family (with spouses Kait and Daniel) went to a restaurant last night right next to Craig Hospital. Just as we were sitting down ordering drinks, my Dad got the call that his Mom had died. Through intermixed tears of joy for her soul and pain for our loss, the first thing we did was raise our glasses to a life well lived & to the new life she received last night in heaven. We turned quickly to prayers of gratitude for the hope we have in the grace of Jesus Christ - knowing that Grandma is discovering heaven's mysteries with the one she loves the most - her Creator! My grandma loved (and loves) Jesus more than anything on this planet and she truly longed to be in His Holy presence. 

Before dinner arrived, as we were holding hands praying a tribute to Grandma, I couldn't help but overhear the joyful conversation at the table next to us. They were raising their voices and glasses in celebration of the birth of a new grandchild. It brought my mind back to that terrible night Kait was admitted to the ER, when we were told Kait wouldn't walk again. On that night, my cousin Elizabeth and her husband Greg described the irony that their son Caleb (Grandma's first great-grandchild) took his first steps that same day. I can't help but reflect in this season on the natural cycle of life and death- that we truly are not meant for this broken world. We are meant for something greater, and this morning as I woke up my first thought was, "she is home!" The Lord promises in Jeremiah 29:11 that "I have for you... plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." He is with us in every step that we take, or don't take. He is the one who gives life and the one who decides when we are ready to turn to dust. We trust in His sovereignty and in His power to use our lives for His good.

One final thought that came from an e-mail my Dad sent this morning to our family-
"While I’m going to miss her terribly, I’m happy for her today. She has been yearning to be with Jesus. My guess is she is having a conversation right now with the Lord about Kait, and advocating to allow her to walk. I pray she will be successful." 

From the day of Kait's accident, Jeanne Wanberg never wavered from her absolute certainty that Kaitlin was going to walk again. We continue to invite you to pray boldly for this to be a reality & to believe wholeheartedly that the Lord is so pleased to hear our prayers.

I've included a few pictures of the most beautiful Grandma in the world. My prayer is that each of you would share the gospel like she did-passionately & without reserve!

Thank you for your thoughts & prayers!
We love you,
Carolyn, Tom, Anita, John, Peter, Daniel & Kaitlin

Grandma and my Dad on graduation day from New Trier East High School, Illinois.