Eternal Happiness

Today was my grandmother's interment. It's been a long wait since she passed away on November 15th, but she was finally laid to rest today next to my grandfather in Arlington National Cemetery. I'm sad that I couldn't be there to be a part of it, but I'm thankful that after almost 20 years, she is now both physically and spiritually reunited with the love of her life.

My wonderful brother was kind
enough to send some pictures...

The fact that they're together in eternity gave me some time today to reflect on their previous life together, too.
My grandfather had the honor of being buried at Arlington because of his service in the Navy. He enlisted when he was 17, conning his mother into signing his contract, and was assigned to the USS Murphy at the height of World War II. He was on board in the English Channel during the D-Day invasion, served as part of the crew who escorted Prince Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia to the Yalta Conference, and later saw some of the worst fighting that the Pacific Campaign had to offer.
My grandmother waited four long years for his return. After they married she devoted herself to raising their four kids and travelling the globe with my grandfather, who spoke four languages and became the Vice President of International Sales for Keebler. Though he was a Navy guy by contract, he always had a soft spot in his heart for West Point, and was ecstatic when my dad was stationed there. I found out later that he had even turned down an appointment to the Naval Academy because he loved West Point so much more. Some of my last memories of him were the times he and my grandmother came to visit us at there; though I was only 7, his sense of pride and patriotism was palpable. When I returned to West Point as a cadet, it made it even more significant to know that he could look down on me and be proud, and that my grandmother could be there first hand to share in my accomplishments, watch me graduate, and in a small way fulfill my grandfather's dream.

As committed as they were to military service and patriotism, they set an even more amazing example with their commitment to each other. They were both stubborn as the day is long, and I clearly remember my grandmother on many occasions exclaiming, "Tony!" in a exasperated tone. But they loved each other completely with the same stubbornness, and in the 20 years since my grandfather's death my grandmother would regale me with stories of love and romance, and always called him her one and only love. I can only imagine how happy they are right now to be reunited for eternity.

I still miss my grandmother dearly, even though I didn't see or talk to her every day. It certainly makes it easier in a sense to know that she lived a full, wonderful life, and it was simply the right time for God to call her home. Her death was not a traumatic event; it was natural and peaceful. But her absence definitely leaves a void in my heart.

It's also been hard to explain her death to the kids, especially Marie. They have a lot of questions, and many nights during bedtime prayers we end up in the same conversation--that Granny is now in heaven, that there is only happiness there, that she gets to be with God now forever. But it's never easy trying to answer the unanswerable--why Granny had to die, why she won't come back, will we die too? And listening to their concerns sometimes is heartbreaking. Marie has asked multiple times if she will die too if she gets sick, or after we go to Colorado, will we go to heaven next and be with Granny? Many days I just just don't know what to tell them....

But if anything, their limited understanding of our troubled world has enabled me step back and and take a lesson in how profound innocence can be. Because for every question they ask, they reaffirm the simple truths that we've tried to share: in Heaven, everyone is happy. Everyone loves each other. No one cries. And once we get there, we will be there forever.

Eternal happiness. It's so simple yet complex at the same time. I can easily pinpoint some of the happiest moments of my life thus far, but it's hard to imagine that type of  incredible joy lasting forever. Everything in our world is so finite, especially happiness. But in the next, it is eternal. The fears, doubts, sadness, frustration we endure every day--they will not exist anymore. I know I'll never be able to grasp it completely during this life, but when try I wrap my head around it--even for a second--the peace soon follows. And I'm so thankful that today, as my Granny was physically reunited with my grandfather, their souls were free of the burdens of this world and busy basking in that amazing eternal joy and glory together.

Now my job is to see to it that we all share in that one day...hopefully in the distant future.


Until then...
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God rest in peace.