My Grandmother had been ill for sometime and recently passed away. November 1, 2008 was her funeral and various family members shared a few things we remembered about her. The following is roughly what I shared, though there is so much more I’m sure I could.

To us as grandchildren, she was simply known as Grandma. She was a kind, caring and humble woman. There is no doubt in my mind that she loved us and it was evident in the way she took care of us. Many a weekend was spent at Grandma’s house. Whether it be staying there until Mom and Dad came back from a function or other outing, meeting with my cousins to play our usual games in the back/front yard or simply just getting together with family for the usual Sunday or Christmas dinner. Her meals were delicious and no matter what she cooked, I could never turn it down. She baked a very good carrot cake as well.

Birthday’s were also special, as our birthday’s were a day apart, so whenever possible we celebrated together. This year she celebrated her 81st, a special year for women in Chinese culture (80 for the men), as we were told by her sister. We all, her friends and family made it a day to remember for her.

Every so often Grandma would call to check on how we were doing. She usually had two questions for me, one was a simple “How are you doing?”, which was easy enough to answer, as I was usually okay. But the second was, “What are you doing? School work?” or “What are you doing? Watching TV?”. Grandma wanted to ensure that I had a good education and was doing well in school. I always had that guilty feeling when she asked that question, as I usually was never doing work at the time. Reluctantly, I would say “I’m watching TV”.

Grandma’s smile was both comforting and reassuring. It always brought a smile to my face to see her smile. I’ll never forget, especially in those last few days before she passed away, when I worried about her, just to see her smile and give a little chuckle would put me at ease.

She had a really good memory. I was amazed at how she was able to remember everyone’s birthdays.

It was encouraging to see Grandma going to church. She would usually ask one of her sons to carry and pick her up. On occasion I was able to attend with her. I used to notice whenever I went to the house to visit that her Bible was right by her side. I must admit at times I was afraid to pray with her, because I was at a loss as to what to say or pray for. But whenever I did and to hear her tell me thank you for praying was an encouragement to keep on doing it. I know that just the fact that I made the effort she was pleased and it kept her going.

Grandma was a blessing to me.

I love you Grandma and will miss you.

The following is one of the many TED Talks that I’ve found to be interesting. This talk is by Billy Graham on “Technology, faith and human shortcomings.”

Speaking at TED in 1998, Rev. Billy Graham marvels at technology’s power to improve lives and change the world — but says the end of evil, suffering and death will come only after the world accepts Christ. A legendary talk from TED’s archives.

We went to the pharmacy to purchase a few items and three picture frames for some photos we were going to give my two grandmothers for Mother’s Day. The cashier seemed to have had a long day and you could see it on her face that she was a bit tired. She cashed our items, but by mistake only charged us for one picture frame. My father, as he usually does, checked the receipt and noticed the mistake. He pointed it out to the cashier and paid the remaining money. She thanked him and we all laughed about it afterwards before leaving.

Usually when things like that happen, people tend to just think of it as their lucky day and run off knowing that they owe the store some money. Again, I know it may seem like something trivial and meaningless, but if we can’t be honest with the little things, how can we expect to be honest with bigger things? I hope and certainly pray that each and every one of us will be honest in all that we do. With that said, here are a few verses on honesty:

The Lord demands fairness in every business deal; he sets the standard. – Proverbs 16:11 NLT

Always keep your conscience clear. For some people have deliberately violated their consciences; as a result, their faith has been shipwrecked. – 1 Timothy 1:19 NLT

Good people are guided by their honesty; treacherous people are destroyed by their dishonesty. – Proverbs 11:3 NLT

Peace and God bless.