Grannybuzz
By Betty Wiggins
Betty Wiggins grew up in south Alabama. She and her husband, Dwight, have three children and live in Birmingham, Alabama. Betty has retired from nursing and is working with Dwight in his mortgage business. Her favorite hobby is photography.

My grandmother was such a wonderful influence in my life. I often watched her do without to be able to give to others. She encouraged us to go to church and carried us with her whenever possible. Her deep faith in God was evident in all areas of her life.

The month after my grandfather died, she was diagnosed with bone cancer. She knew she had a deep faith in God and she wasn’t going to give up easily. She showed us great strength during this time of mourning his loss and her diagnosis.

After thirteen years with bone cancer, I noticed that Granny was getting weak. When she was in the hospital, with all her family around, she knew it was only a matter of time before she would not be with us. Granny called me over to her bed and told me that she wanted our family to “be of one accord” after she was gone and that I should make sure that our family would remain close after her death.

With death, we do not know the hour or the day it will come. Our family moved my grandmother to a hospital closer to her home for her last days. I lived the farthest away of all her grandchildren and I knew the end was near but life had to go on at home. My heart was always with her even though I physically was not there.

About a week after the last time I saw Granny, I was working a twelve-hour shift in the hospital nursery. I had a strange feeling come over me. It was a few minutes after eleven p.m. and I was washing my hands at a sink. I remember stopping and saying “Granny.”

I felt a sweet presence as if she were there with me. I was the only grandchild not with Granny at the hospital when she died. It was about an hour later that my husband called me to tell me that he had received a phone call that Granny had died shortly after eleven o’clock. I immediately told him that I had felt her presence at about that time. I felt like I had been given a precious gift as she left this earth.

I was very sad that she had died, but I was excited that she had “visited” me. I had never had an experience like this. It truly makes you realize how precious life is and grateful that there is life after death. I am also grateful for the relationship that my grandmother and I had together. I know that by observing how she lived life, I have been inspired to be strong and have faith that God has a plan for all of us. I also know that Dwight and I plan on being good grandparents so that our grandchildren will feel close to us. Hopefully, we will leave a legacy that will inspire them to overcome adversity and to love and serve others.

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