She's gone home.

Today was a sad day for us all, as granny was finally laid to rest. I had the privilege of being asked to pay a tribute to her at the funeral:

"Let me say a few words about granny – that’s who she was for me. For you she may have been mum, old nanny, Ethel or Mrs Curry.
The past few times that we saw her there was one thing she said which will always stay with me. “I’m tired. I just want to go home.”
Granny was never more comfortable than at home. Out visiting on a Sunday afternoon, she would often ask when it was time to go home. It didn’t matter where she was, or how much she’d enjoyed herself. She still watched the clock. Restless – getting ready to put her coat on. She loved being at home. She was a home bird. It was her place. It was where she was at her best. And it was there that she did her most.
She opened her home to Andrew and me, when we needed it. She took us in when mum was ill in hospital. And it was in her home that she pointed us on our journey of faith. I can still remember that moment she prayed with me at my bedside. And years later – when we’d grown up and gone, it was there that she occasionally cared for her first great grandsons. Even though she thought then --14 years ago – that she’d never live to see any of them. But, in the end, she did even manage to wait until she saw little Tilly, her first great grand-daughter, born only a few months ago.
And it was in her home that she prayed for us constantly and consistently. There was never a day that we visited her that she wouldn’t whisper to us, “I’m praying for you. I pray for you everyday”.
She lived a long memorable life – 94 years in all. But as the years passed by she longed to go home. Of course, she wasn’t talking about Lambeg, or Carntogher Road, Tonagh Mews or Lisadian House. There was a deep yearning within her for her to visit her heavenly home. Her Saviour was wooing her, calling her. She had a longing within her for another land, another home. That’s what she was created for. Her life here, was only a taster, a glimpse of something far better to come.
She was so looking forward to it. For her it wasn’t something to be feared. Instead, it was something to be anticipated, the end of a long journey.
Now she truly has gone home – to a place where there is rest for her weary bones. Where her strength is renewed. Where there are no more tears. Where she isn’t worrying about all of us. A place where she is reunited with old friends, and familiar faces. A place where she is celebrating and feasting with her Saviour, who she loved so much.
Yes, we will miss her -- her love, her prayers, her humour, her sharp wit, her sitting at the dinner table. But she is a better place.
Now she is no longer looking at the clock. No longer waiting to get her coat on. For she is there. Now she has arrived.
It is with joy and hope that we say farewell granny. We know that you are welcome in your new home. What better place to be than there with Jesus."