keranzi

i am seven again, clinging to the edge of a trampoline. my legs and torso are violently trashing around, despite my best efforts to remain still, while my older brothers relentlessly try to bounce me sky high. only i'm not seven, i'm twenty-five. and i'm not on a trampoline, i'm in college. and it's not my brothers trying to launch me to my doom . . . it's  l i f e. i have been so busy lately, which explains the lack of blogging in the past four months. as the end of the semesters nears, the busyness gets worse. the good news is i have three days of school left and then finals and then i'm done. but oh wait. there's adult figure skating championships this weekend in chicago followed by two out of state weddings. (seattle and san jose). so while trying to study for finals, i also have to train for nationals and get ready to fly all over the country. 


... aber so ist das leben. it's times like these that i have to remember . . . i signed up for this. and while i can't control some things that comes my way, i can control how i handle them. [flopping around like a seven year old on a trampoline may not be the best way to react to life, but it sure is how i felt until last weekend.] gerneral conference weekend, march 31st - april 1st, i drove to grand junction colorado to see my grandma ranzenberger. i was only able to watch one session of general conference, but what i did see and the time i spent with my grandmother put a lot of things in perspective for me. 


the past year i've been stressing about school, and grades, and dating, and my job, and blah blah blah ... but last weekend it dawned on me. it doesn't matter. i don't say that to mean that those things aren't important, because they are. i just mean that i can only try my best in those aspects ... but beyond that, it's out of my control. when i'm a speech therapist nobody is going to ask me what grade i got in anatomy. (i got a "B" if you're wondering). although, school, grades, dating, and my job are important - they aren't what's m o s t important. 




that may have been the last time i will see grandma ranzenberger in this life time. over the past month she has had a major surgery, her health has declined and was recently placed in a rehabilitation facility for the elderly. i have since spoken with my father and we're not really sure what to expect. she's days away from turning 96 and it's been 11 years since grandpa ranzenberger passed. she misses him. a lot.

as i sat in the living room with my grandmother that weekend i was overwhelmed with gratitude. i realized how truly blessed i am to have forged relationships with my grandparents, to hear their stories and to get to know them. i miss my two grandfathers, but i can only imagine how much my grandmothers miss them. imagine seeing someone everyday for 50+ years and how hard it would be to say goodbye. i'm not sure what the next few months, even weeks hold for grandma ranzenberger, but i am sure that when her time comes to pass into the next stage of existence, her husband will be waiting there for her. what a sweet reunion that will be. 

how fitting that today is easter?! i am grateful for Jesus Christ. because of him we are able to repent, we will all be reunited again, and we will be resurrected. 

 "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."[1 Corithinians 15:55 & 57]