Jan Larsen

Yesterday marked the 1 year anniversary of the passing of my grandmother, Jan Larsen, who was my icon and very best friend. I just wanted to say a bit about her and not let this special time of remembrance pass by unmentioned...
I was fortunate to live close to her for all of my life and to have her influence on a consistent basis. I was often coming and going with life, college and jobs, and then once married, I lived away for a time. But of course that didn't last. Rusty and I moved back home to Western Washington not long after we were first married and she was definitely a big motivator for that decision. In fact speaking about Rusty, I recently came across the sweetest token of love, in regard for my g-ma. I was looking through some old e-mails and came to one that he'd written me in August 2002 shortly after I'd left to Taiwan to teach English for a year (we'd been dating on and off for a few years at this point). With the craziness of getting ready to leave, I hadn't gotten the chance to visit my grandma the day before my plane left. He knew how much I'd wanted to do that. In this e-mail, Rusty had talked about driving around for work that day I left and finding himself near my g-ma's neighborhood and not knowing why, but driving to her house to see her. After explaining the details of their visit and how neat it was to be there with her, he summed up his comments with this: "I THINK I LOVE YOUR GRANDMA TOO. HOPEFULLY YOU CAN SHARE." In the end, Rusty's soft spot for my g-ma and the special relationship her and I shared was something that helped me know that I wanted to marry him.
My grandma always used to say to me: "Wherever you are, be there." That phrase has meant a lot to me as I've experienced different seasons of my life as they've come and gone and I've tried to enjoy whatever time I was at and not wish for the past or the future, but to live in gratitude in the present. And this phrase now has new meaning as she has passed and I am grateful for the here and now. But mostly of course, I feel gratitude for the Gospel and the reality and joy found in family relationships that are eternal. While still appreciating the here and now, it is wonderful to have that to look forward to as well!