Aunt Patricia
We all have acquaintance with grief at some level. It is never over; it just continues add layers to daily life. My Aunt Patricia made it safely home to heaven this week. While I will miss her all the rest of my life, I rejoice that she is whole again and in her forever home. What can I say about my dad’s youngest sister?! Patricia did not have an easy life, yet it made her even more resourceful. When I think of her I think of how she made the places she was, whether big or small, sparse or full, messy or clean, feel like home. If you have ever come home from on a dark night, you know the welcome relief of a porch light and an “open” door. Sometimes a house can feel like a hug; when you walk in you feel seen and loved and safe. There is room for one more at the table and everyone is treated like a guest of honor. My aunt may not have had much but what she had she shared. She put others first. She cared well for the needs of others. She was resilient and the way she kept going no matter the obstacles is a testimony of God’s grace and it gives me strength.
It is impossible for me to think about Alabama – my Dad’s home – and not think of his childhood home, his family, including Patricia, and the way it still feels like home, even to me, in spite of living there only a short time when I was young! A house. A home. A place prepared every time we came. While the relative’s homes in Alabama do not have many rooms, they were always full of happy memories, inviting smells and faces of people I loved. Likewise, into a room with weary and anxious friends Jesus came; in John 14 Jesus told his followers that in His home there are many rooms. There is a place being prepared where there will always be a welcome mat, there will always be a seat waiting, and there is an open door. What a gift to know that heaven is a real place that is planned and a room prepared with our name on it! Our own rooms! Not a closet or a spare, left over room but a place for us to belong as family. Not only that, Christ is not just waiting for us to show up. He goes on to say that he promises to come and get us! On Dec. 11th, Jesus came and got Patricia Moses McClellan, my aunt, and took her safely to that very real home – her home in heaven! She was welcomed through an open door, the chair had been pulled out just for her, and her name spoken with tenderness and joy. I am sure my dad was right there along with many others to celebrate her arrival!
Patricia wan’t just my dad’s youngest sister. She was a born caregiver who was super good at nurturing whoever needed it. She was a kind sister and also a stellar grandmother to her 5 grands. She made everyone feel seen and heard and she cared well for the people she loved. I am so glad to call her my family. Here’s the thing about aunts- they occupy a magical space in our lives where they are family by blood and they love us without the responsibility of a parent, which means they might teach things parents wouldn’t, slip you a little extra something, sense when you need a hug even before you do, and know what to say when life gets complicated. I think that some people just make life better. That is my Aunt Patricia!