Five Years

[For the fifth anniversary of Laura’s death and entry into eternal life, I thought I’d post the last thing she wrote for her blog before she died.  Its theme (“it’s all about God”) nicely sums up the last years of her life and her preparation for the Kingdom.]

One of the greatest compliments I’ve ever received was from my 8-year-old granddaughter Jazmyn. A couple of years ago, she and her younger sister Anna came to stay with me for a few days over their Christmas break. They’d never been to my apartment, so when they walked in the door they looked all around going into every room, seeing all the icons. Then Jazmyn came over and said the most beautiful thing. She said, “Grandma, it’s all about God!” I looked at her, smiled and said, “Yes, it is all about God, isn’t it?”

I had never really thought about my apartment as being all about God before. This made me wonder if others had the same impression. I hope they did. I think this is part of being that light of the world that Jesus speaks about. Not only how we live, but what we surround ourselves with in our homes becomes a clear indication of who we are. Are we “all about God”?

Now that I live with others and have my own room, I guess you could say that my room is all about God. I’ve surrounded myself with the holy icons, my spiritual books and my work area where I write icons. Whenever I look around I think: this is to remind me of who I am and Who I serve. It is a reminder of where I want to go when I leave this life. When I wake up in the morning it’s the first thing I see and when I close my eyes at night I feel that my soul is safe.

This is a very special place. It is where I can go and be alone with the Lord. Everyone should have a special place in their home, even if it’s very small. Eastern Catholics have what is called an icon corner, where the holy icons are placed with some candles and a Bible. It is a place to go and pray and remember why we are here. It’s God’s special place in our home.

I hope that my little granddaughters will keep these memories with them. And if someday they find themselves looking for the right path, perhaps they will think of Grandma’s home and remember: “It’s all about God.”