All things work out for good

 
  My precious Grandpa and Grandma Nightingale have been a huge support to David and I in ministry. They too served in full time ministry. They were missionaries to Ecuador and Brazil and then served in different pastorate positions in North America. My grandpa was a firecracker of a preacher, which came as a surprise to most people as he is a short, sweet, light hearted and friendly man. When he got behind the pulpit his passion and desire for the Lord's will in his life and in the lives of others came across profoundly. I loved watching him preach, so full of life, love and passion! I had never seen anyone pound the pulpit before! I also had never heard his booming voice like that! His enthusiasm was contagious and his words were so kind and full of love that you longed to hear the  message the Lord had given him to speak! I know the Lord used him greatly day in and day out as he so faithfully served Him.

    My grandma is a sweet kind, soft spoken, wise and godly woman. Always extremely hospitable, a phenomenal cook and certainly knows how to love others. She has a gentle, sweet voice- but all that she says carries an immense amount of weight. She speaks truth and love and wisdom faithfully. Whenever she speaks I make sure to pay close attention to what she has to say. She is very affectionate and loving and always makes people feel so special and like they belong.

     Together they raised 6 children, as the moved across the world sharing the gospel, encouraging and equipping the saints! They have so many amazing stories and have both lived such fruitful, faithful and full lives!
     I have so much love and admiration for them both and have felt so privileged to have them as loving grandparents and phenomenal advisers supporting us with wisdom in parenting an ministry. After retirement, they have been fierce and diligent prayer warriors, they reached out to their neighbors and and always told people about their experiences and the Lord's goodness in their lives.
 

      Today as I type this, I hold tight to all the precious memories, advice, wisdom and beautiful conversations we had together around the table as we ate all grandma's delicious meals and desserts! The way they both so tenderly loved each of my children, scooping them up in their arms, holding them tight! Grandpa would tell them short stories and jokes and grandma would whisper words of love and encouragement into their little ears. Elijah left a hand print on their dinning room mirror when he was 1.  All these years my grandma has diligently cleaned around it... the print is still there. My times with them have always been so precious, ever since I can remember.
       Both of my amazing grandparents are still living, but I am the only one who remembers the times we have shared. My grandpa has dementia and my grandma's alzheimers has  dramatically effected her in the last few months. It has been so sad to see them walk this road after living such faithful and adventurous lives. To see them being robbed of their brilliant minds is absolutely devastating. It makes me all the more grateful for all the questions I asked, time I spent,  and for all the wisdom and love they both so freely and generously gave me.

   


 Of our most recent visits the one that I will treasure forever is when we went up to surprise my grandma last year for her Birthday. It was the first time that my grandma met Sunday, two of my brothers we able to join us, and it was so precious for us all to be together for those few days!







     Oh how my grandma loved on my  babies. Sunday was content to be in her arms and it was SO priceless and perfect. At that time my grandpa's mind and memories were kind of hit or miss and it had been like that for awhile already. But much to my surprise and joy, when he had a moment of clarity, he made the effort to put each of my children up on his lap
one at a time. He talked to them by their names and said to every one of them,  "Do you love Jesus? I love Jesus too! AND I love you...." He said other things them as well, but ended each of his conversations with those three sentences. I will always remember that! What a gift for me to see that and for them each to have that special memory with him.

 
One of my most precious possessions is a little poem my grandpa Nightingale gave me just before David and I left for our time in England. He hand typed it on his typewriter and neatly cut the almost transparent, very thin paper so that the words had a tiny little border of white around them.

All things work out for good, we know

Such is God's great design.

He orders all our steps below

for purposes divine.

This is the faith that keeps me still,

No matter what the test,

And lets me glory in His will;

for well I know 'tis best

So now the future holds no fear;

God guards the work begun. 

And mortals are immortal here

until their work is done.

Some day the path He chose for me

will all be understood.

In heaven's clearer light I'll see

All things worked out for good.

I keep this poem safely tucked away in my Bible, inside a handwritten letter my grandma sent me full of her wise words and insight. I see them both every day and find such comfort in those words my grandpa wrote, not just for me now though... for him and grandma too.