I shared last week that I’d discovered a treasure. My grandma loaned me the memoir her mother, Helen, wrote for her in 1967. It’s a black book with a red spine that says “RECORD” on the front cover. She glued several pictures on the pages scrapbook-style, including a few of my grandma as a gorgeous little baby (and I am not one to throw that word around to any baby I see).

I haven’t read the whole book yet, but I already love it like crazy. The funny parts are some my faves–I love that my great-grandma had such a sense of humor. But my very favorite part so far is pretty serious.

Helen had an older sister Edna who died when she was 10 (Helen was 8). She writes a lot about her sweet sister (and I’ll share snippets) and then tells the story of her death (I’ll share that whole thing). It’s sad but beautiful. Encouraging. Comforting. Filled with hope.

I’ll let Great-Grandma tell you herself.

To me, my sister Edna was wonderful. She always took such good care of me. When I started to school, we had quite a ways to walk. Especially on cold winter mornings. We had to go up a hill where the cold wind was almost as much or more than I could take. Edna had a heavy brown wool coat with a medium long cape. She put her arm around my shoulder and put the cape over my head, and we trudged up the hill together…

Edna was such a dear little Christian. She loved to read her Bible and commit to memory portions of her Bible and many verses…

Edna was such a healthy little girl, rosy cheeks, big brown eyes, dark brown hair [my dad has an 8 x 10 picture of her]. The year she died of leukemia, she gradually became pale and weak. Leukemia was a very rare disease at that time…

A few days before Christmas, Mother, feeling that Edna might not live until Christmas, took her gifts to her bedside, to give them to her. I went with Mother. It was hard for me to stay away from Edna. She thanked Mother, but told her to give them to someone else, as she would soon be with Jesus. Though many years have gone by since then [69], I can still remember what the gifts looked like.

On Christmas Eve she grew worse. Grandpa Cooke drove his horse (Maude) to Huntsville to get Dr. Montgomery to come. (We had no phones then.)…

We were gathered together in the room where Edna lay. She asked Aunt Ida to sing her favorite psalm, “I shall be satisfied when I awake in Thy likeness.” Aunt Ida was so filled up, she just couldn’t sing. Father sang it instead. Edna sang a few lines with him, but her voice gave out. Father sang the entire psalm. He said he didn’t know how he did it, but with God’s help he did. Then Edna wanted to bid us all goodbye. She knew us all…

Shortly after this, Edna’s face lit up, and she tried to tell us what she was seeing. She kept saying, “Oh! It’s so beautiful. I wish you could see it. I just can’t describe it.” Someone asked, “What is it you see, Edna?” “Oh!” she exclaimed. “It’s Heaven, and it’s so beautiful.” Then she told us all, “You all shine. You’re so bright.” One could see the light of heaven shining in her eyes. Dr. Montgomery came to her bedside. She said to him, “Dr., you are so bright, you just shine.” (He was dressed in a dark suit.)

She seemed to see right through people. Mother couldn’t keep from crying, so she got behind some others. Edna said to her, “Don’t cry, Mama. I’m happy. I’ll soon be with Jesus.” She went to sleep then. Mother send Annabel and I to bed. I supposed she was dead, but Aunt Ida told me sometime after that, she awakened about 2 o’clock in the morning, and it took two of them to hold her in bed. She died then on Christmas morning.

Dr. Montgomery said afterwards that he had been with a good many of his patients when they died, but never have I witnessed a death as beautiful as Edna’s. It’s been many years since Edna died, but I can see it so plainly yet. I don’t think anyone could witness a scene like that and ever forget it. For it’s very rare. I was 8 yrs. old then. No one can ever tell me that Heaven is not beautiful. We missed her so, but knew she was happy with Jesus.

I can’t wait to go to heaven and see Great-Grandma Helen again. And meet my Great-Great-Aunt Edna. And see my Grandpa Yoder. And my Grandma Figley. And Gabe’s Grandma Marilyn. And my uncle Greg. And meet Gabe’s Taviano grandparents I never knew.

And Angie’s Audrey. And Jess’s Cora. And my Amy’s sweet Abigail.

And oh, so many, many others.

Who are you most looking forward to meeting/seeing again in heaven?