Gram Wichert (1936-2023)

I had the blessing of helping provide 24-hour care for my Gram over the last 7 months alongside my mom, my Aunt Barb, my cousin Renee, and a few others. When it became evident we needed to live with her, there was no question in my mind whether I should or shouldn't. I looked at this need as an opportunity to show Gram how much I loved her and how grateful I was for all the time she had generously invested in me. As a wife, homeschooling mom of 4 children, and a part-time Kid Ministry Director, taking care of Gram should have been pretty near impossible to fit into my schedule, but it wasn't. Taking care of Gram should have felt like a sacrifice, but it didn't.

I can honestly say, taking care of Gram was not only possible, but an absolute joy because of the grace of God resting on and working through me, and the other caregivers! I think they would agree. He made a way when it seemed like there was no way! These past 7 months have been a miracle! They testify to the amazing multiplying work God can do when we are willing to give what little we have to tend to the needs of others. They testify to the indescribable joy that comes from following the example of our servant-king Jesus.

Here I was hoping to show Gram how much I loved her and thank her for all she poured into my life, yet I can say I've been the one blessed beyond measure.

As I said, Gram generously invested in me. She was a consistent presence in my life and someone I could talk to about anything. She prayed with me about what I was struggling with, the deep pain I was walking through, and the things I hoped for.

Some of my favorite memories of her include our yearly outing to the Nutcracker, sleepovers at each of her apartments, decorating her apartments for Christmas, helping her hang laundry up to dry in her backyard on Schuyler Street, watching movies together, me in my cozy pajamas and her with curlers in her hair, and our many conversations over a fresh cup of her weak coffee with lots of flavored creamer. Oh, and I can't forget to mention how she would drive Andy, Adam, and me down the road from our house in Baldwinsville to the cemetery, and have us hunt for huge piles of leaves the groundskeeper had raked into the car path between the graves. When we spotted one, she would speed up and go crashing through the piles, leaves flying everywhere!

I could share many more memories, but what is really on my heart to share today is her favorite Bible verse and the depth of hope she found in it. For those of you who don't know, my Gram was a romantic. It's no wonder her favorite Bible verse is found in the book of Ruth. But the book of Ruth isn't just a romantic story, it is meant to be a signpost directing us toward the greatest, truest love story the world has and will ever know.

Let me set the scene.

Naomi and Elimelech, who were Israelites, had two sons, Mahlon and Kilion. When there was a famine in their hometown of Bethlehem, they traveled to Moab and lived there. Elimelech died, and afterward, Mahlon and Kilion each married a Moabite woman. One married Orpah and the other, Ruth. About 10 years later, Mahlon and Kilion died. Naomi, Orpah, and Ruth were all widows. Naomi decided to go back to her homeland to live with her fellow Israelites. Orpah remained in Moab, but Ruth decided to go with Naomi.

Here is where we find Gram's favorite verse.

Ruth 1:16-17

Ruth said to Naomi: “Don’t ask me to leave you and turn back. Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. Wherever you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD punish me severely if I allow anything but death to separate us!”

Ruth made a declaration of faith that day. She decided to leave her homeland, her people, and her Moabite gods behind and live with Naomi. One day, not long after Naomi and Ruth arrived in Naomi's hometown, Ruth asked Naomi if she could go into the harvest fields and gather stalks of grain purposely left behind by the harvesters so Naomi and her would have food to eat. Ruth didn't realize it, but she ended up in the fields of a man named Boaz, and Boaz was a relative of Elimelech, Naomi's deceased husband. When Boaz discovered who Ruth was, he told her to stay and gather grain in his fields until the end of the harvest season, to drink the water from his well and assured her she would be protected from harm. He shared his food with her at mealtime and had her sit with his harvesters. That night Ruth told Naomi all that Boaz did for her, and Naomi informed Ruth that Boaz was one of the family's closest relatives and one of the family's kinsmen redeemers.

Before I tell you the end of the story if you don't already know, I want to explain a couple of things. Ruth was a Moabite, born an enemy of God's people, she was a widow, and she had no children. Ruth could do nothing to change her situation, and if nothing changed, her husband's name would die with her. Boaz was a kinsmen redeemer. A kinsmen redeemer was a relative, who could marry the widow, so she could have a son to carry on the family name of her dead husband and inherit the family property in his hometown. In other words, a kinsmen redeemer brought life from what was dead and hopeless.

Gram saw her life outside of Jesus reflected in the character of Ruth. Ruth symbolizes us. We are all born as enemies of God, with a sinful nature. We are outsiders, and before we belong to Jesus, we are dead and destined to be separated from God for eternity.

Ephesians 2:1, 4-5

Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God's grace that you have been saved!)

Gram also recognized how Boaz's character represented the work of Jesus in her own life. Spoiler alert: Boaz graciously and gladly took up his role as Ruth's redeemer and married her. He wooed Ruth with his kindness by providing food for her and Naomi, by protecting her, and by giving her a seat among the other Israelites, even though she was a foreigner. Boaz did what Ruth could not do for herself. He secured her inheritance and life came from their union. They had a son named Obed, who was the grandfather of King David and whose name was recorded in Jesus' record of ancestors.

Gram, like Ruth, needed a Redeemer, one who could usher in life from what was dead; one who could provide for her, protect her and change her status from foreigner to family. Jesus was Gram's Boaz. He gave her new life, welcomed her into His family, and gave her an eternal inheritance.

Isaiah 54:5

For your Maker is your husband— the LORD Almighty is his name— the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the God of all the earth. For the LORD has called you like a wife deserted and grieved in spirit, like a wife of youth when she is cast off...For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,” says the LORD, who has compassion on you.

The last time Gram quoted this verse to me, she had tears in her eyes. Her greatest love truly was her Redeemer, and when she spoke about Him, she lovingly testified of His kindness toward her.

The book of Ruth points us toward the truest and greatest love story that has and will ever be told because it is meant to direct our attention toward the true and better Boaz, who is Jesus. Jesus loved us so much that he did what we could not do for ourselves. He redeemed us with his life and death. He lived the life we could not live and died the death we deserved for our sins. Through faith in Him, we have new life. He is our bread of life, our living water, our refuge, and our eternal inheritance.

I believe one of the reasons Ruth 1:16-17 was Gram’s favorite verse, is because it was her lifelong declaration of faith. She wanted to go where Jesus went, He was her God, and she wanted to live with Him. Jesus was her husband, and she was His beloved bride.

I want to close with a song the Lord gave Gram many years ago. I remember when she shared it with me. I was sitting on her couch in her apartment on Park Street and she sang these words:

"Come away my beloved, come away with me, come away my beloved, I will set you free.

Come away my beloved, come away with me, come away my beloved, I will give you me.

Come away my beloved, come away with me, come away my beloved, for eternity."

Jesus set Gram free-

He gave her Himself-

and Thursday evening, He led her home to be with Him for eternity.

I could say, what a perfect ending to my Gram’s love story with her Savior, but this is just the beginning.

~Amy