Prayer for my Nana

At this time my Nana was 96 years old.  She was still in quite good spirit and health.  (2008)

The process.  The prayer / the Dream / Nana's excitement / the phone call.

The prayer:

One day in 2008 I was walking through my unit toward the kitchen, when I felt this strong sense to pray for my Nana.  It was quite an arrest of my spirit, so I sat on the couch and I said to the Lord, 'what do you want me to pray for' and the response I felt was, 'I want you to pray for her death'.

This was a bit strange, but I felt it was from the Lord.  Plus, she was 96 years old and her time would come one day.  So I sat and prayed for about 5 minutes.  The things I prayed for were along the line of: Lord take her peacefully / quietly and without pain and that she would get to do everything that she needed to do before she left this earth and went on to her Heavenly Father. I also prayed for her heart, for Jesus to deal with any issues that need to be dealt with.

The dream:

A week or so later I had a dream.  I was in a church and there were pew type seats and some people I knew from church, and then there was this young girl in a beautiful white dress standing in front of me - holding the sides of her dress open with a playful swing in her stance. I said to her 'Nana, you are here, you are here'.  In saying 'you are here', I knew it was heaven, and this young girl whom I somehow knew was my Nana, was in white, and she was youthful.  And I was joyed that she was in heaven.  As she was Catholic, the pews in the dream made sense.

Nana's excitement

A further week on approximately, I decided to call my Nana on a Friday night for a general chat.  She was all excited as there was a family gathering on the Sunday.  It would be the first occasion that everyone would be together (except me).  My Uncle and his family.  My Mum.  My brother, his wife, and their twin boy and girl would be there.  My sister, her husband and their 6 week old newborn girl. My Dad.  I was happy that Nana was so excited about it and thought it was a little unusual, as she would usually try to get out of family gatherings in her later years, but didn't think much more.

So my Nana was with her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren.  The occasion was my Uncle and Aunties Birthday.

The Phone Call:

On the Wednesday after the Sunday gathering I had a call from my mum.  My Nana had passed from this life into the next.  This was just over 2, maybe 3 weeks from when I felt to prayer for her.  I was so glad that I had spoken to her on the Friday night just prior, and knew that she was happy.

This Wednesday morning, my Nana would do her usual thing where she would move from her bed to her chair, where she would sit with her legs crossed, elbow on arm rest and head resting on her hand, and then spend some time in prayer.  The nurse / carer that provides her medication had just dropped off my Nana's breakfast and said that she will be back in a moment with her tablets.  My Nana replied 'thanks dear'.  (I can still hear what that would sound like). When the lady came back my Nana had gone.  She was sitting in exact same spot and in prayer, but she was gone.  The Lord took her peacefully / quietly.

I was also then told the following:

On the Sunday prior at the party, she got to hold her great granddaughter for the first time. She saw my brother and his children for the first time in a couple of years. They happened to be down from living 8 hours north, just that weekend.  My dad, who hadn't really spoken to my grandmother much during the separation years of my parents, said that he went and sat with my Nana and had a talk to her, and it was kind of like a nice chat with her and that everything was 'alright' and it was pleasant.  My Nana loved dahl and she had hoped that she would have some specially made curry, rice and dahl.  She got that, made by the Indian neighbour to my Uncle. In the evening of Sunday, said that she didn't want to go back to her home care unit until Wednesday, but this was not able to take place, and she had to return on the Sunday night back to her unit at 'Little Sister's of the Poor'.

On the Monday, Nana had more of her curry, rice and dahl, which she had brought back from the party.  She sat outside her door and waiting for someone to go past that could heat the dish for her.

On the Monday later, she called my mum and said that she was having funny pains in her chest.  My mum spoke to the nurse, and she said that it is probably indigestion as she has eaten so much curry and rice. She was given some tablets and was OK.  Tuesday, I think she had the last of her curry and rice.

Then the Wednesday morning was her day to go to the Lord.  My mum mentioned the timing, as Nana was hoping to stay at my Uncles until the Wednesday morning and this is where she would have passed if she'd stayed there.

I went to Perth for the funeral.  During one morning I was sitting at the dining table at my sisters and my mum mentioned something about asking the priest or needing comfort as to whether Nana was in heaven.  Then I said, Mum, I had a dream, I dreamed that I saw Nana in heaven and I said 'Nana, your here'.  My mum cried and it was a comfort to her.

I think about that, and the prayer to take her peacefully and to have her do or complete all that she needs to before she goes; the way she got to see her whole family, speak with me, and even eat her dahl.  God is so amazing, it really stuns me how this all happens but to have the Lord ask me to pray and give me a dream, was such a blessing.

I can still hear her voice. I miss her but know I will see her again.