Sketchism

I want to thank all of you who have been asking about my grandmother’s condition. It’s really touching that you haven’t forgotten. I’m proud to say that my grandma was checked out of the hospital over a week ago. She is now under the care of my aunts and mother at my Aunt Claudia’s house only a few minutes west of me. They take turns staying with her at night and addressing her needs. I call her just about every night to find out how she’s doing. She complains of her body feeling sore at times and admits to having irrational fears of the worst kind sometimes. “Es la medicina,” she explains. One of the few things that brings her real comfort is having someone to pray with her. The nights when I visit, she’ll ask me to stay until the night so we can pray together. I remind her that I have friends who are praying for her by name and she thanks the Lord for them. Her paralysis is slowly fading away. The left side of her face shows more expressions these days. Her eyes are wide open and every so often she cracks a smirk large enough to force a smile. It’s a beautiful thing.

Last week she lifted her left leg a bit and I couldn’t believe it. She could bend it slightly enough to hover over the wheelchair pedal. I am told that sometimes when she yawns, her left hand will raise up ever so gently. Every inch matters these days. It is an amazing process to see her heal.

She confesses that sometimes her faith is weak. She asks for the strength to continue. As we pray in that dark room I feel a humility that is beyond my own capability. I’m referring to her’s. She talks to God with poetry and honesty. Every prayer I’ve ever said seems to be a mumble of broken words and prideful pleas. As if praying were ever really meant to be about me. But not her. She asks God to do His own will. In those quiet moments when a stillness of thoughts engulfs the room, she expresses an adoration that the saints would envy. Those heavy tears return and I can barely muster up enough air in my lungs to say Amen. But I do. And she says Amen, too.

She wants to meet these friends that I’ve been telling her about. I tell her I would like her to meet them as well. And so now I am asking if anyone would be willing to make an evening of it. I don’t have a particular day in mind, but I suppose a Saturday or Sunday would make for a good time. Anybody interested? Email me if so.

Thank you all again.