My Grandma Sharon

On Tuesday night my sweet Grandma Holgate died.  She battled pancreatic cancer with optimism and faith, and it was hard to see my vibrant grandma slow down because of that crippling disease. How grateful I am we got to see her this Christmas, got to show her my little Julia Sharon who was named after her.  I know she was praying to get through Christmas.  Seeing her grandkids and seeing these new babies was so important to her.  I was praying for the same thing, and so today I am grateful for a merciful Father who allowed a faithful and stalwart woman to hold onto her withering body for a few more weeks so we could be with her.  I know that the grave hath no victory, and the sting of death is swallowed up in Christ.  I know I will see her again. I'm grateful for every minute we got to be with her.

I love her excitement to see this little girl.  She loved every grandkid with this kind of intensity.

I am so grateful that I got to hear her testimony, her rigid optimism and trust in the Lord as we visited with her. Stuart asked her what she has been learning in this phase of her life, and she told us that she has learned that the Lord is in control.  She said you have to be grateful for every little thing in your life, and hold onto the things that really matter like family and the gospel.  Those are the only things that really have any value anyway.  I am so grateful for my good Grandma.  She influenced me a thousand times more that I could sum up with my simple ramblings.  She has cheered me on, given me a warm and loving childhood (where most memories were of her house), she has shown me her testimony through how much she gave to others and to her callings.  She had more ability and vigor to work hard and do good than anyone I know.  I will miss her, but am so grateful I have a lifetime of good memories I will keep close to me.  There are still a lot of things I have to learn from her.  

What I've Learned from Grandma

-She valued every child that entered her life as a treasure.

-She showed you she cared by being present at the big events.  Every wedding, graduation, baptism, blessing, and milestone was marked by my Grandma and Grandpa Holgate being there.  Grandma loved to celebrate the happy things and showed by her presence, that those things really mattered.  That you mattered.

-She loved with Christ-like purity and always saw the best in people.

-When she had a calling in the church, she gave it her all because she knew she was really serving God.  Her love changed people.

-It was hard being away from grandkids, very hard, for this hands-on Grandma, but she made the effort to stay connected to our lives and still serve 2 missions.

-She loved seeing the excitement on grandkids faces as they opened Christmas presents, so there was always a grand procession of youngest to oldest every Christmas day.

Memories of Grandma Holgate

-On Friday nights with my friends in high school would hang out at her house while Grandma would cook.  I realize now that she was always preparing things for a big family dinner on Sunday and I should have been helping her!

-The hot leather seats in her car, going to the mall with her to spend the birthday money she would give us.  Getting to talk with her.

-Swimming in her pool, dive competitions, shark shark.  A grateful Grandma who loved to watch us play.

-Making up plays and performing them for all the adults, the L shaped carpet blocks we would use to build castles and forts, playing capture the flag in her front yard.

-Her love of music.  Hearing us sing always lifted her spirits.

-The way she would call me Nattie and always expressed such trust and confidence in me.  I always wanted to be better after talking to her.

What is your favorite memory of Grandma?  What did she teach you?

If you have any thoughts or memories, I would sure love to hear them :)