This past June I went to Siesta Key, Florida. The reason for this trip was for a Celebration of Life ceremony for my grandmother. She died this day last year. I loved the opportunity to go to Florida and spend time with my family. Even through this was a hard time it was obvious that God was still evident on this trip. I saw God in a few ways while I was in Florida. On this trip He taught me the importance of family and leaving a good legacy.

During the trip I learned the importance of family. There has been times over the years that my extended family has had some ups and downs with other family members. In the past there have been conflicts that have happened during family reunions, but this trip was different. There wasn’t any serious conflict that I was aware of. It seemed like everyone tried to make the best out of a sad situation. We haven’t all been together in years, and it was good to see family members that I have only seen a couple times in my life. There were also newer family members that I had never even met before that were there. The reasoning for this was partially because my extended family is all across the country. We decided as a family we’re going to try to do more family reunions. We are already working on the details for the next family reunion.

Another place I saw God was in the life of my grandmother. She had a difficult life, and she made a lot of mistakes over the years. I love my grandmother a lot, and there has been good aspects of her life that I miss tremendously. One of these things is her artistic abilities, which she passed down to me. She is the one that has inspired me to enjoy the arts, and she has taught me many skills when it came to drawing and painting. We have to look at the good of a person, and we need to choose to cherish the good memories with her. One of the last words she told me was the regret she had in later years with not seeing me more often. Unfortunately, on this side of heaven there won’t be more opportunities for us to get closer. So I hope if you still have the chance to forgive and look past the negative aspects of a person you should really try, because one day it might be too late.

Even though I miss my grandmother tremendously, it shows that God can use a tragic situation to bring good to His people. It’s important during this time that we look to God to show us a positive outlook. That sometimes the situation doesn’t change, but we can look to God to help us change our perspective.

Scripture References

• “Children are a heritage from the LORD, offspring a reward from him.” ~Psalm 127:3 NIV
• “The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” ~Psalm 34:18 NIV
• “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me.” ~John 14:1 NIV

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