A legacy of faith

On December 29, 2016, my grandmother, Jean Danner, left this world after 92 years of faithful service and went to be with Jesus, where she has no more pain. My Granny was such a blessing in my life. While I will miss her a lot, I am happy for her that she has entered the presence of her Lord and has heard the words, "Well done, my good and faithful servant." This morning while I am an ocean away from the others who are grieving, I wanted to write a few things I appreciated and remembered about my Granny. Here is a photo from several years ago with our four generations.

Many of my earliest memories were of times at Granny's house in Pompano. Sunday afternoon dinners at her house were delicious and funny. I remember all the joking about how she would try to encourage my grandfather to eat healthier. (He passed away from a heart attack when I was in middle school.) Granny would let me help her cook. She would watch my gymnastics shows in the living room. She would play card games with us. She and I loved playing a game called manipulation, where you can move around cards in order to put them in runs or sets. She loved doing crossword puzzles and had a great grasp of the English language. We couldn't get away with improper grammar around her. She would correct us in loving ways with joking and laughter. I think the laughter in her home is what I remember most about our times there. Both my grandparents enjoyed laughing. My Pop-pop had a loud gregarious laugh. My Granny had a quick, clever wit. Other fond memories I had at her home include swimming in their pool, hearing stories about my mom's childhood, grilling kebabs, listening to the Miami Dolphins on the radio, eating the key limes, little bananas, and grapefruit growing in her backyard, snacking on "nuts and bolts" and generally felling loved and happy and full.

After Pop-pop passed away, Granny lived many years on her own. She spent much of her time serving the church in various ways. Up until she was not able, she would serve operating the switchboard, coordinating the Sunday School office, and caring for others in need. Even late in life, when friends or members of her family were struggling, she would want to do whatever she could to help. She was also a woman of prayer. When she was no longer physically able to serve, she would continue to serve others by faithfully praying for them. Her ministry will definitely be missed, but she was a beautiful example to her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren of serving the body of Christ. I am so blessed to have known her and learned from her for 40 years. I pray that like my Granny's, my home will be a place of grace, laughter and love, and that I will serve in love as she did faithfully for so many years.