Saying Good-bye to Grandma Grace

I was privileged to witness my grandmother's "deathbed conversion."

By: Janet Hatfield

My mother called with the news one cold October night. "Hello, Janet? I just wanted you to know that Grandma Grace is dying." She continued with details of how Grandma had begun refusing food two days before.

How strange, I thought. On the same day my grandmother stopped eating, I had begun a novena to the North American Martyrs. My intention: Grandma’s salvation. I hadn’t started the novena because I knew much about these saints or felt especially inspired—it simply seemed like a good thing to do.

“We don’t expect you to make the trip,” my mother continued. “You were just here in August, and with your little ones…” Her voice trailed off. But my thoughts were already bridging the nine hundred miles between my home in Georgia and New York, where Grandma was. I longed to be near her.

“Oh, I’ll be there,” I assured Mom. “Somehow, I’ll be there in a couple of days.”

Grandma’s Pet. My Grandma Grace was very special to me. We were special to each other. She had…

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