May the Circle be Unbroken

Grandma's funeral was a beautiful celebration of her life. We worked hard to plan it perfectly. Some of my favorite things may not have been noticed by all, but would have been loved by her. Her casket spray had Zinnia flowers in it. Those were her favorite. We grow them every year in the garden. However, we did not have a garden this year so mom and I drove around to nurseries until we found Zinnias to give to the florist. We also used pink Hydrangeas from moms yard. The wreath from Travis, Michael and I had tea cake cookie cutters, a bell, a small bible, and a quilt square, all of her favorite things.  We used some of her quilts on the pews to mark the reserved family section. It was comforting to sit on a quilt that she made. The service was excellent. Our pastor Mark Cottrell did a wonderful job. Grandma loved him very much and he honored her well. Our family entered the church singing "Mansion Over the Hilltop," my heart was joyful. Grandma's favorite song was "Beulah Land", so the choir sang it. (At this time our church choir is small and we have no pianist. I called around the community to find extra singers and asked our cousins to play the piano and organ. It turned out great! The choir loft was full. Grandma would have loved it!)  My favorite part of the service was "Jesus Loves Me." First Mark told the congregation that many of us were probably taught the song by "Miss" Juel. Then he played a recording of Grandma and Tyson singing it. It took our breath away to hear her sweet voice. Then the congregation sang all four verses. It was perfect! I also spoke:

I am Juel’s Grandaughter, Laura. I would like to begin by saying thank you to all of you that are here today to share your love and support with our family as we celebrate the life of our most precious “Juel”. I would also like to thank our family for allowing me to speak to you about the wonderful lady that I called Grandma. We all loved her dearly and are so proud of her life. Although my words will not adequately express how we each feel about her, I hope that I can honor her by sharing some of my treasured memories and I hope you can relate.

When I was thinking of how to begin I looked through a box of cards given to me by Grandma throughout the years. My guess is that most of you here today, certainly those of you on these front pews, have received cards from her. I found Birthday Cards, Christmas Cards, Easter Halloween, Valentines Day and even St. Patricks Day Cards. I found get well cards and sympathy cards. She sent congratulations in graduation cards, a wedding card, a “new home” card and a welcome baby card. She remembered and shared support for every season of life. However when looking through these I found more than just cards…I found the heart of the most thoughtful person I have ever known. You see, weekly when I was away in college she sent a card along with a sweet handwritten letter. Each note included details about ‘happenings’ within our family and community. Reading through them is like reading a history story. In the letters, she told me about Hill’s crops and of a quilt she was making with Faye, of trips to Morehead and Blowing Rock with her sisters Millie and Tillie, she described visits from Myron and Barbara and their children, she told about Will’s first day of Kindergarten, of Morgan’s 14th birthday and that is seemed like just yesterday she was born, of how proud she was of Michael graduating from high school and that she knew Rhonda would miss him. She was proud when Uncle Myron retired from the Highway Patrol and loved to talk about Uncle Hill’s mule rides. She told me about making fig preserves and of what vegetables were ready in the garden. The notes told of her everyday “work” she called it, like going to Zebulon, cooking, and doing other “jobs.” Grandma was strong and hard working and was a conservationist long before it was a popular trend. She told about events that she would help with here at her beloved church and of dances and gospel singing she was looking forward to. She told about everyone’s jobs; one note included her excitement when Bill and Marty moved back home. She passed along the prayer chain, telling of surgeries, doctors’ appointments, funerals and more. Many of these letters were about her sincere prayers for Karen and Brian during Karen’s illness and like a good example they later included great praise for her recovery. Through these letters and truly by her daily example, her close relationship with Jesus is obvious. She sought His help and praised his name. As I dug to the bottom of the box I found letters signed Grandma Juel and Grandaddy Biddy. He loved her so much. I later found letters that talked about how much she missed him, but that she was thankful for her children, family and dear friends who would look after her. She always smiled and was positive in every situation, a character trait inherited from her sweet parents Grandaddy Herbert and Grandma Thettie Bell. In several letters she wished me luck for my first days of teaching, a skill I learned from her. Grandma was the very best teacher! In fact for many of us she was our ‘first teacher,’ as she taught us science lessons around her kitchen table and showed us how to write letters with a Farm Bureau notepad and pencil sharpened with a knife. She could entertain with a string of buttons or bowl of baking soda and vinegar. For over 20 years she taught the beginner Sunday School here at Pearce Baptist and provided a foundation in Jesus for me, and perhaps for many of you too. Even in her last months of life she would sing “Jesus Loves Me” to my Tyson and to her namesake, Juel. Several letters included bible verses, copies of devotionals or pages from her favorite Christian magazines. Later her letters were about my upcoming wedding that would take place on her front porch, where our family has many treasured memories of playing on the balcony, posing for pictures, setting up her Christmas nativity, seeing her proudly display the American Flag, and where today there hangs a white wreath. In many of her letters she simply told about the weather, which was an important consideration in a farm family. In one note she told about her favorite flower, zennias that were “the prettiest she had ever seen” that year. In other letters she expressed her excitement about upcoming holidays and that she was looking forward to gathering at Gregg and Elaine’s house, shaking the pecan tree, making her famous fruit cake and of course her special tea cakes, that she would lovingly paint so carefully.

But in every single letter she told me that she loved me and that she hoped I could come home soon. Now sweet Grandma is home in heaven. If she were writing a letter today, Grandma would tell us that she loves us and wants us to love each other. And that more than anything she wants us to believe in Jesus so that soon we can come home to join her.
We left the church while Johnny and June Cash (her favorite) sang                        "May the Circle Be Unbroken"...