TRIBUTE TO JANNA PIEHL
By Cindy (Adams) Coffin, granddaughter
To stand up here and even begin to try to explain who my grandmother was and how many people she influenced and touched during her lifetime is an impossible task. Her life and the kind of person she was and all the things she did can’t be condensed into a few words or photographs. But I will spend a few minutes talking about who she was to me and the influence she had on my life.
My first memories of Grandma are of a kind, good-natured, gentle person. Just the kind of person a vulnerable, timid child feels safe with and likes to be around. I loved it when she and Grandpa came to our house to visit, and I loved to visit them.
Sometimes Grandma came to stay a few days, and she would sew dresses for me. I would sit on the floor in my Mom’s sewing room, while Grandma did her work at the sewing machine. It seemed like I could sit there for hours with nothing but a jar of buttons to play with while Grandma sewed. It wasn’t that the jar of buttons was that entertaining – I just liked to be with her. She put a lot of love into those dresses, and I always felt special when I wore them. They were my favorite dresses to wear to kindergarten.
When I was 9 years old, my Mom and brothers and I moved to Renville. My brothers and I were lucky to live in the same town as my grandparents.
A few days after we moved here, Mom sent us to the grocery store downtown to pick up a few things. We got downtown and we didn’t see anything that looked like a grocery store, so one of us finally said, “Hey! Let’s go to Grandma’s!”
I still remember Grandma & Grandpa’s surprised but happy reaction at seeing us come walking into the yard. They wanted to know where Mom was, so we explained she had sent us on an errand to the grocery store, but we couldn’t find it so we decided to visit them. They couldn’t believe that we had walked all that way and that we had managed to find their house. But finding their house was easy – we knew right where it was and thought nothing of walking from one end of town to the other to get there. It would be the first of many visits where no matter when any one of us kids showed up, we were always welcome and Grandma and Grandpa were always glad to see us.
Holidays were a time to get together as a family, and these gatherings were at Grandma’s house. Grandma and Grandpa were the center of the family, and whether it was Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, Grandma or Grandpa’s birthday, or any day, for any reason, Grandma’s was the place to be. I can still hear the doorbell ring and see Grandma drop whatever she was doing to go welcome the person arriving. Sometimes it was a family member, sometimes it was neighbor; sometimes it was one of their many friends. When the doorbell rang, Grandma and Grandpa were always happy to see whoever it was. A visit from someone was not an intrusion or an inconvenience, but a special treat. And people liked visiting them because being with them was a special treat. They had a way of making you feel welcome, important, and special.
One of the most enjoyable occasions for my Grandma was going to family reunions – and best of all, hosting a family reunion at her own house. Whether it was the Berglund side of the family or the Piehl side didn’t matter. They were all family to her, and she loved it when everyone was together.
When I was growing up, Grandma made me feel special by inviting me to go on trips with her. These were very special times to me because I had Grandma all to myself. In her 70’s , Grandma took Community Education classes in Art and found that she had some talent in sketching and painting. Some of my favorite memories are of going with Grandma to the Glenville Waterama, where there was an art show. She would display all her paintings in a booth, and was available to answer questions about her work, or how much one of her paintings cost. She was very pleased if someone bought one of her paintings, but I had mixed feelings. I never liked it when a stranger bought one of her paintings; I thought she should keep them all. Grandma knew other artists there, and there was always someone to visit with. In the evening, we’d go to the Waterama show at the lake, and stay overnight at a motel. The next day, we’d go back to the art show. By then, the judges had made their rounds to see which works of art deserved an award.
The excitement was too much or me; I’d race on ahead of Grandma to see if one of her paintings got a 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place ribbon. Then I’d race back to Grandma and tell her, “Grandma, one of your paintings got a blue ribbon and some others got a red ribbon.” She would break out into the loveliest smile and her face would light up, not so much because she had won an award, but because I was so excited for her. Of course, I thought all of Grandma’s paintings should have gotten blue ribbons, just because she was the person who made them.
Sketching and painting as a hobby were just one of the many things Grandma had time for. Grandma was involved in many community and church activities. I liked to go to community events when Grandma was there. So many people made it a point to come up to her and talk with her; they were happy to see her and you could tell they thought highly of her. I almost felt like I was a granddaughter of famous people when I lived in Renville. Neither Grandma nor Grandpa could walk downtown without several people stopping them on the street, happy to see them, and wanting to greet them and talk to them.
Part of the reason I liked to go to church was because Grandma was always there, whether it was for a service or a special activity. I remember as young teenager being at the church to help prepare for the ham supper, which the church had every year for a fundraiser. I was in the basement helping out, and then Grandma arrived. When she walked into the room it’s like the whole place lit up – everyone said hello to her and was glad to see her. What struck me the most was how much respect the younger women of the church seemed to have for her. She was treated as though she were the matriarch of the church, yet she never thought of herself that way.
Grandma received some honors and awards for many of the things she did and activities she was involved in. Whether it was a blue ribbon for one of her paintings, being asked to serve on a committee, being chosen to be worthy matron at Eastern Star, being asked to take a leadership role in the Lawrence Welk Band, or being honored by the governor as Minnesota’s Senior Citizen of the year, these are not the things that stand out in my mind when I think of Grandma and what she accomplished in her life. Instead, I think of what Grandma was like in her daily life, and how she treated me.
She loved her husband. She loved her children. She loved her grandchildren. She loved her great grandchildren. She loved her nieces, her nephews, her cousins, her friends, and her neighbors.
Janna Piehl lived and moved and had her being in God. That is why she was who she was; that is why she loved people and treated them as she did.
The Bible says that “the Lord is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger, and of great mercy. The Lord is good to all and His tender mercies are over all his works.” This is a description also of who my grandmother was.
The last few years of her life, Grandma lost her ability to be independent, to move, to speak, to engage in the activity of life. It was very difficult seeing this happen to such a beautiful person, and one could blame it on God, or wonder why He would allow such a thing to happen. But Grandma was not one to lash out at God, or even to question Him. She accepted the difficulties of life and trusted God throughout her life, even when it didn’t make sense to do so. I can hear her saying with Job, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.”
Her outward body wasted away, but inside she had an incorruptible seed. God did not abandon her, but prepared a mansion for her, as He will for all those who believe in Him. On Friday, at approximately 12:50 a.m., my grandmother received the end of her faith – the salvation of her soul. Today she is with her Best Friend – her Lord and Savior in the kingdom of heaven. As she was surrounded by those who loved her here, she is surrounded by those who love her there.
She’s home, but I don’t think she’ll be content till the rest of us are home too. I wouldn’t be surprised at all to have Grandma meet us at heaven’s door, as each one of us goes home. And I wouldn’t’ be surprised if God chose her to help prepare and serve the wedding feast, and gave her a place of honor at the table. The Bible says that if you want to be great in God’s kingdom, then learn to be the servant of all. And that is what she was – she was the servant of all, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.
By Cindy (Adams) Coffin, granddaughter
To stand up here and even begin to try to explain who my grandmother was and how many people she influenced and touched during her lifetime is an impossible task. Her life and the kind of person she was and all the things she did can’t be condensed into a few words or photographs. But I will spend a few minutes talking about who she was to me and the influence she had on my life.
My first memories of Grandma are of a kind, good-natured, gentle person. Just the kind of person a vulnerable, timid child feels safe with and likes to be around. I loved it when she and Grandpa came to our house to visit, and I loved to visit them.
Sometimes Grandma came to stay a few days, and she would sew dresses for me. I would sit on the floor in my Mom’s sewing room, while Grandma did her work at the sewing machine. It seemed like I could sit there for hours with nothing but a jar of buttons to play with while Grandma sewed. It wasn’t that the jar of buttons was that entertaining – I just liked to be with her. She put a lot of love into those dresses, and I always felt special when I wore them. They were my favorite dresses to wear to kindergarten.
When I was 9 years old, my Mom and brothers and I moved to Renville. My brothers and I were lucky to live in the same town as my grandparents.
A few days after we moved here, Mom sent us to the grocery store downtown to pick up a few things. We got downtown and we didn’t see anything that looked like a grocery store, so one of us finally said, “Hey! Let’s go to Grandma’s!”
I still remember Grandma & Grandpa’s surprised but happy reaction at seeing us come walking into the yard. They wanted to know where Mom was, so we explained she had sent us on an errand to the grocery store, but we couldn’t find it so we decided to visit them. They couldn’t believe that we had walked all that way and that we had managed to find their house. But finding their house was easy – we knew right where it was and thought nothing of walking from one end of town to the other to get there. It would be the first of many visits where no matter when any one of us kids showed up, we were always welcome and Grandma and Grandpa were always glad to see us.
Holidays were a time to get together as a family, and these gatherings were at Grandma’s house. Grandma and Grandpa were the center of the family, and whether it was Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, Grandma or Grandpa’s birthday, or any day, for any reason, Grandma’s was the place to be. I can still hear the doorbell ring and see Grandma drop whatever she was doing to go welcome the person arriving. Sometimes it was a family member, sometimes it was neighbor; sometimes it was one of their many friends. When the doorbell rang, Grandma and Grandpa were always happy to see whoever it was. A visit from someone was not an intrusion or an inconvenience, but a special treat. And people liked visiting them because being with them was a special treat. They had a way of making you feel welcome, important, and special.
One of the most enjoyable occasions for my Grandma was going to family reunions – and best of all, hosting a family reunion at her own house. Whether it was the Berglund side of the family or the Piehl side didn’t matter. They were all family to her, and she loved it when everyone was together.
When I was growing up, Grandma made me feel special by inviting me to go on trips with her. These were very special times to me because I had Grandma all to myself. In her 70’s , Grandma took Community Education classes in Art and found that she had some talent in sketching and painting. Some of my favorite memories are of going with Grandma to the Glenville Waterama, where there was an art show. She would display all her paintings in a booth, and was available to answer questions about her work, or how much one of her paintings cost. She was very pleased if someone bought one of her paintings, but I had mixed feelings. I never liked it when a stranger bought one of her paintings; I thought she should keep them all. Grandma knew other artists there, and there was always someone to visit with. In the evening, we’d go to the Waterama show at the lake, and stay overnight at a motel. The next day, we’d go back to the art show. By then, the judges had made their rounds to see which works of art deserved an award.
The excitement was too much or me; I’d race on ahead of Grandma to see if one of her paintings got a 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place ribbon. Then I’d race back to Grandma and tell her, “Grandma, one of your paintings got a blue ribbon and some others got a red ribbon.” She would break out into the loveliest smile and her face would light up, not so much because she had won an award, but because I was so excited for her. Of course, I thought all of Grandma’s paintings should have gotten blue ribbons, just because she was the person who made them.
Sketching and painting as a hobby were just one of the many things Grandma had time for. Grandma was involved in many community and church activities. I liked to go to community events when Grandma was there. So many people made it a point to come up to her and talk with her; they were happy to see her and you could tell they thought highly of her. I almost felt like I was a granddaughter of famous people when I lived in Renville. Neither Grandma nor Grandpa could walk downtown without several people stopping them on the street, happy to see them, and wanting to greet them and talk to them.
Part of the reason I liked to go to church was because Grandma was always there, whether it was for a service or a special activity. I remember as young teenager being at the church to help prepare for the ham supper, which the church had every year for a fundraiser. I was in the basement helping out, and then Grandma arrived. When she walked into the room it’s like the whole place lit up – everyone said hello to her and was glad to see her. What struck me the most was how much respect the younger women of the church seemed to have for her. She was treated as though she were the matriarch of the church, yet she never thought of herself that way.
Grandma received some honors and awards for many of the things she did and activities she was involved in. Whether it was a blue ribbon for one of her paintings, being asked to serve on a committee, being chosen to be worthy matron at Eastern Star, being asked to take a leadership role in the Lawrence Welk Band, or being honored by the governor as Minnesota’s Senior Citizen of the year, these are not the things that stand out in my mind when I think of Grandma and what she accomplished in her life. Instead, I think of what Grandma was like in her daily life, and how she treated me.
She loved her husband. She loved her children. She loved her grandchildren. She loved her great grandchildren. She loved her nieces, her nephews, her cousins, her friends, and her neighbors.
Janna Piehl lived and moved and had her being in God. That is why she was who she was; that is why she loved people and treated them as she did.
The Bible says that “the Lord is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger, and of great mercy. The Lord is good to all and His tender mercies are over all his works.” This is a description also of who my grandmother was.
The last few years of her life, Grandma lost her ability to be independent, to move, to speak, to engage in the activity of life. It was very difficult seeing this happen to such a beautiful person, and one could blame it on God, or wonder why He would allow such a thing to happen. But Grandma was not one to lash out at God, or even to question Him. She accepted the difficulties of life and trusted God throughout her life, even when it didn’t make sense to do so. I can hear her saying with Job, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.”
Her outward body wasted away, but inside she had an incorruptible seed. God did not abandon her, but prepared a mansion for her, as He will for all those who believe in Him. On Friday, at approximately 12:50 a.m., my grandmother received the end of her faith – the salvation of her soul. Today she is with her Best Friend – her Lord and Savior in the kingdom of heaven. As she was surrounded by those who loved her here, she is surrounded by those who love her there.
She’s home, but I don’t think she’ll be content till the rest of us are home too. I wouldn’t be surprised at all to have Grandma meet us at heaven’s door, as each one of us goes home. And I wouldn’t’ be surprised if God chose her to help prepare and serve the wedding feast, and gave her a place of honor at the table. The Bible says that if you want to be great in God’s kingdom, then learn to be the servant of all. And that is what she was – she was the servant of all, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.
TRIBUTE TO JANNA PIEHL
By Cindy (Adams) Coffin, granddaughter
To stand up here and even begin to try to explain who my grandmother was and how many people she influenced and touched during her lifetime is an impossible task. Her life and the kind of person she was and all the things she did can’t be condensed into a few words or photographs. But I will spend a few minutes talking about who she was to me and the influence she had on my life.
My first memories of Grandma are of a kind, good-natured, gentle person. Just the kind of person a vulnerable, timid child feels safe with and likes to be around. I loved it when she and Grandpa came to our house to visit, and I loved to visit them.
Sometimes Grandma came to stay a few days, and she would sew dresses for me. I would sit on the floor in my Mom’s sewing room, while Grandma did her work at the sewing machine. It seemed like I could sit there for hours with nothing but a jar of buttons to play with while Grandma sewed. It wasn’t that the jar of buttons was that entertaining – I just liked to be with her. She put a lot of love into those dresses, and I always felt special when I wore them. They were my favorite dresses to wear to kindergarten.
When I was 9 years old, my Mom and brothers and I moved to Renville. My brothers and I were lucky to live in the same town as my grandparents.
A few days after we moved here, Mom sent us to the grocery store downtown to pick up a few things. We got downtown and we didn’t see anything that looked like a grocery store, so one of us finally said, “Hey! Let’s go to Grandma’s!”
I still remember Grandma & Grandpa’s surprised but happy reaction at seeing us come walking into the yard. They wanted to know where Mom was, so we explained she had sent us on an errand to the grocery store, but we couldn’t find it so we decided to visit them. They couldn’t believe that we had walked all that way and that we had managed to find their house. But finding their house was easy – we knew right where it was and thought nothing of walking from one end of town to the other to get there. It would be the first of many visits where no matter when any one of us kids showed up, we were always welcome and Grandma and Grandpa were always glad to see us.
Holidays were a time to get together as a family, and these gatherings were at Grandma’s house. Grandma and Grandpa were the center of the family, and whether it was Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, Grandma or Grandpa’s birthday, or any day, for any reason, Grandma’s was the place to be. I can still hear the doorbell ring and see Grandma drop whatever she was doing to go welcome the person arriving. Sometimes it was a family member, sometimes it was neighbor; sometimes it was one of their many friends. When the doorbell rang, Grandma and Grandpa were always happy to see whoever it was. A visit from someone was not an intrusion or an inconvenience, but a special treat. And people liked visiting them because being with them was a special treat. They had a way of making you feel welcome, important, and special.
One of the most enjoyable occasions for my Grandma was going to family reunions – and best of all, hosting a family reunion at her own house. Whether it was the Berglund side of the family or the Piehl side didn’t matter. They were all family to her, and she loved it when everyone was together.
When I was growing up, Grandma made me feel special by inviting me to go on trips with her. These were very special times to me because I had Grandma all to myself. In her 70’s , Grandma took Community Education classes in Art and found that she had some talent in sketching and painting. Some of my favorite memories are of going with Grandma to the Glenville Waterama, where there was an art show. She would display all her paintings in a booth, and was available to answer questions about her work, or how much one of her paintings cost. She was very pleased if someone bought one of her paintings, but I had mixed feelings. I never liked it when a stranger bought one of her paintings; I thought she should keep them all. Grandma knew other artists there, and there was always someone to visit with. In the evening, we’d go to the Waterama show at the lake, and stay overnight at a motel. The next day, we’d go back to the art show. By then, the judges had made their rounds to see which works of art deserved an award.
The excitement was too much or me; I’d race on ahead of Grandma to see if one of her paintings got a 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place ribbon. Then I’d race back to Grandma and tell her, “Grandma, one of your paintings got a blue ribbon and some others got a red ribbon.” She would break out into the loveliest smile and her face would light up, not so much because she had won an award, but because I was so excited for her. Of course, I thought all of Grandma’s paintings should have gotten blue ribbons, just because she was the person who made them.
Sketching and painting as a hobby were just one of the many things Grandma had time for. Grandma was involved in many community and church activities. I liked to go to community events when Grandma was there. So many people made it a point to come up to her and talk with her; they were happy to see her and you could tell they thought highly of her. I almost felt like I was a granddaughter of famous people when I lived in Renville. Neither Grandma nor Grandpa could walk downtown without several people stopping them on the street, happy to see them, and wanting to greet them and talk to them.
Part of the reason I liked to go to church was because Grandma was always there, whether it was for a service or a special activity. I remember as young teenager being at the church to help prepare for the ham supper, which the church had every year for a fundraiser. I was in the basement helping out, and then Grandma arrived. When she walked into the room it’s like the whole place lit up – everyone said hello to her and was glad to see her. What struck me the most was how much respect the younger women of the church seemed to have for her. She was treated as though she were the matriarch of the church, yet she never thought of herself that way.
Grandma received some honors and awards for many of the things she did and activities she was involved in. Whether it was a blue ribbon for one of her paintings, being asked to serve on a committee, being chosen to be worthy matron at Eastern Star, being asked to take a leadership role in the Lawrence Welk Band, or being honored by the governor as Minnesota’s Senior Citizen of the year, these are not the things that stand out in my mind when I think of Grandma and what she accomplished in her life. Instead, I think of what Grandma was like in her daily life, and how she treated me.
She loved her husband. She loved her children. She loved her grandchildren. She loved her great grandchildren. She loved her nieces, her nephews, her cousins, her friends, and her neighbors.
Janna Piehl lived and moved and had her being in God. That is why she was who she was; that is why she loved people and treated them as she did.
The Bible says that “the Lord is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger, and of great mercy. The Lord is good to all and His tender mercies are over all his works.” This is a description also of who my grandmother was.
The last few years of her life, Grandma lost her ability to be independent, to move, to speak, to engage in the activity of life. It was very difficult seeing this happen to such a beautiful person, and one could blame it on God, or wonder why He would allow such a thing to happen. But Grandma was not one to lash out at God, or even to question Him. She accepted the difficulties of life and trusted God throughout her life, even when it didn’t make sense to do so. I can hear her saying with Job, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.”
Her outward body wasted away, but inside she had an incorruptible seed. God did not abandon her, but prepared a mansion for her, as He will for all those who believe in Him. On Friday, at approximately 12:50 a.m., my grandmother received the end of her faith – the salvation of her soul. Today she is with her Best Friend – her Lord and Savior in the kingdom of heaven. As she was surrounded by those who loved her here, she is surrounded by those who love her there.
She’s home, but I don’t think she’ll be content till the rest of us are home too. I wouldn’t be surprised at all to have Grandma meet us at heaven’s door, as each one of us goes home. And I wouldn’t’ be surprised if God chose her to help prepare and serve the wedding feast, and gave her a place of honor at the table. The Bible says that if you want to be great in God’s kingdom, then learn to be the servant of all. And that is what she was – she was the servant of all, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.
By Cindy (Adams) Coffin, granddaughter
To stand up here and even begin to try to explain who my grandmother was and how many people she influenced and touched during her lifetime is an impossible task. Her life and the kind of person she was and all the things she did can’t be condensed into a few words or photographs. But I will spend a few minutes talking about who she was to me and the influence she had on my life.
My first memories of Grandma are of a kind, good-natured, gentle person. Just the kind of person a vulnerable, timid child feels safe with and likes to be around. I loved it when she and Grandpa came to our house to visit, and I loved to visit them.
Sometimes Grandma came to stay a few days, and she would sew dresses for me. I would sit on the floor in my Mom’s sewing room, while Grandma did her work at the sewing machine. It seemed like I could sit there for hours with nothing but a jar of buttons to play with while Grandma sewed. It wasn’t that the jar of buttons was that entertaining – I just liked to be with her. She put a lot of love into those dresses, and I always felt special when I wore them. They were my favorite dresses to wear to kindergarten.
When I was 9 years old, my Mom and brothers and I moved to Renville. My brothers and I were lucky to live in the same town as my grandparents.
A few days after we moved here, Mom sent us to the grocery store downtown to pick up a few things. We got downtown and we didn’t see anything that looked like a grocery store, so one of us finally said, “Hey! Let’s go to Grandma’s!”
I still remember Grandma & Grandpa’s surprised but happy reaction at seeing us come walking into the yard. They wanted to know where Mom was, so we explained she had sent us on an errand to the grocery store, but we couldn’t find it so we decided to visit them. They couldn’t believe that we had walked all that way and that we had managed to find their house. But finding their house was easy – we knew right where it was and thought nothing of walking from one end of town to the other to get there. It would be the first of many visits where no matter when any one of us kids showed up, we were always welcome and Grandma and Grandpa were always glad to see us.
Holidays were a time to get together as a family, and these gatherings were at Grandma’s house. Grandma and Grandpa were the center of the family, and whether it was Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, Grandma or Grandpa’s birthday, or any day, for any reason, Grandma’s was the place to be. I can still hear the doorbell ring and see Grandma drop whatever she was doing to go welcome the person arriving. Sometimes it was a family member, sometimes it was neighbor; sometimes it was one of their many friends. When the doorbell rang, Grandma and Grandpa were always happy to see whoever it was. A visit from someone was not an intrusion or an inconvenience, but a special treat. And people liked visiting them because being with them was a special treat. They had a way of making you feel welcome, important, and special.
One of the most enjoyable occasions for my Grandma was going to family reunions – and best of all, hosting a family reunion at her own house. Whether it was the Berglund side of the family or the Piehl side didn’t matter. They were all family to her, and she loved it when everyone was together.
When I was growing up, Grandma made me feel special by inviting me to go on trips with her. These were very special times to me because I had Grandma all to myself. In her 70’s , Grandma took Community Education classes in Art and found that she had some talent in sketching and painting. Some of my favorite memories are of going with Grandma to the Glenville Waterama, where there was an art show. She would display all her paintings in a booth, and was available to answer questions about her work, or how much one of her paintings cost. She was very pleased if someone bought one of her paintings, but I had mixed feelings. I never liked it when a stranger bought one of her paintings; I thought she should keep them all. Grandma knew other artists there, and there was always someone to visit with. In the evening, we’d go to the Waterama show at the lake, and stay overnight at a motel. The next day, we’d go back to the art show. By then, the judges had made their rounds to see which works of art deserved an award.
The excitement was too much or me; I’d race on ahead of Grandma to see if one of her paintings got a 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place ribbon. Then I’d race back to Grandma and tell her, “Grandma, one of your paintings got a blue ribbon and some others got a red ribbon.” She would break out into the loveliest smile and her face would light up, not so much because she had won an award, but because I was so excited for her. Of course, I thought all of Grandma’s paintings should have gotten blue ribbons, just because she was the person who made them.
Sketching and painting as a hobby were just one of the many things Grandma had time for. Grandma was involved in many community and church activities. I liked to go to community events when Grandma was there. So many people made it a point to come up to her and talk with her; they were happy to see her and you could tell they thought highly of her. I almost felt like I was a granddaughter of famous people when I lived in Renville. Neither Grandma nor Grandpa could walk downtown without several people stopping them on the street, happy to see them, and wanting to greet them and talk to them.
Part of the reason I liked to go to church was because Grandma was always there, whether it was for a service or a special activity. I remember as young teenager being at the church to help prepare for the ham supper, which the church had every year for a fundraiser. I was in the basement helping out, and then Grandma arrived. When she walked into the room it’s like the whole place lit up – everyone said hello to her and was glad to see her. What struck me the most was how much respect the younger women of the church seemed to have for her. She was treated as though she were the matriarch of the church, yet she never thought of herself that way.
Grandma received some honors and awards for many of the things she did and activities she was involved in. Whether it was a blue ribbon for one of her paintings, being asked to serve on a committee, being chosen to be worthy matron at Eastern Star, being asked to take a leadership role in the Lawrence Welk Band, or being honored by the governor as Minnesota’s Senior Citizen of the year, these are not the things that stand out in my mind when I think of Grandma and what she accomplished in her life. Instead, I think of what Grandma was like in her daily life, and how she treated me.
She loved her husband. She loved her children. She loved her grandchildren. She loved her great grandchildren. She loved her nieces, her nephews, her cousins, her friends, and her neighbors.
Janna Piehl lived and moved and had her being in God. That is why she was who she was; that is why she loved people and treated them as she did.
The Bible says that “the Lord is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger, and of great mercy. The Lord is good to all and His tender mercies are over all his works.” This is a description also of who my grandmother was.
The last few years of her life, Grandma lost her ability to be independent, to move, to speak, to engage in the activity of life. It was very difficult seeing this happen to such a beautiful person, and one could blame it on God, or wonder why He would allow such a thing to happen. But Grandma was not one to lash out at God, or even to question Him. She accepted the difficulties of life and trusted God throughout her life, even when it didn’t make sense to do so. I can hear her saying with Job, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.”
Her outward body wasted away, but inside she had an incorruptible seed. God did not abandon her, but prepared a mansion for her, as He will for all those who believe in Him. On Friday, at approximately 12:50 a.m., my grandmother received the end of her faith – the salvation of her soul. Today she is with her Best Friend – her Lord and Savior in the kingdom of heaven. As she was surrounded by those who loved her here, she is surrounded by those who love her there.
She’s home, but I don’t think she’ll be content till the rest of us are home too. I wouldn’t be surprised at all to have Grandma meet us at heaven’s door, as each one of us goes home. And I wouldn’t’ be surprised if God chose her to help prepare and serve the wedding feast, and gave her a place of honor at the table. The Bible says that if you want to be great in God’s kingdom, then learn to be the servant of all. And that is what she was – she was the servant of all, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.
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