Grandma Grace

This is Grace Baron (Ba-run). Great Grandma to my daughters and Grandma to my husband. This picture was taken with my youngest daughter in her arms when she was one week old.
Grandma passed away today and so it is fitting to pause and reflect. Reflect on the woman she was, the life she led, and the legacy she has left behind.
But what can be said of a woman like her? She was a women to be emulated for certain. She had a hard work ethic, a respectful tone in all her relating, she loved God, her family and her friends.
She was born and raised in Zeeland, MI where she also went home to meet her Lord and Savior earlier this afternoon.
I only knew her for the last 8 years but felt loved by her as though I was her blood-grandchild since Christian introduced us at their annual Thanksgiving Day feast in 1999.
Every year the Baron Family would rent a hall in the middle of no-where-ville (Dorr, MI) and put out a spread to feed an army. There are enough members in their family to constitute an army in some countries, I think...at least a militia of some sort.
Grandma Grace was loving, kind, generous in thought and deed, and never made her family feel like a burden. She always welcomed our visits, even if they were un-announced. She loved to hear about what we were up to, how the girls were doing, what Christian was up to with work, school, or me. She embodied a life of simplicity, gratitude, and faith. She didn't have much, but what she did have she definitely took care of...well.
I remember when her husband, Christian's Grandpa, passed away a few years ago. It was so sad to watch her grieve such a significant loss. We knew this day would be coming eventually for her as well, as it does for all of us.
I'm so grateful for Grandma Grace. So grateful for the opportunity to have known her for a few years. So grateful for the virtues she helped to instill in my husband which he is instilling in our daughters. So thankful she was able to meet both our girls, and love, and hug, and kiss, and hold them. So thankful Christian had an opportunity to say goodbye to this woman he's loved and admired his whole life.
May God bless you Grace Baron, and bless your family here on earth for your faithfulness and generosity. May you rest in peace and hope and joy and love. Amen.