Selfless, humble, joyful: three words to describe my grandma, although those aren’t the only words that could portray the full character of my 4’8″ grandma, Mary Toshiko Thompson.

Around five years ago she was diagnosed with Leukemia and the doctors only gave her six to twelve months to live. When my parents sat my older siblings and I down to tell us the news, we didn’t know at the time how it would fully affect her.

Little did I know that within the next five years she would be living with my family, supporting me in three years of high school, and still setting an example of a true servant of Christ.

Throughout the last couple months, my mom had been taking my grandma to the clinic for shots and was making regular trips to the hospital for transfusions. My grandma’s immune system was not able to fight off sickness, which made it harder for her to be in full health.

On Jan. 16 my grandma decided to stop her Leukemia treatment, and her body started to quickly decline. She couldn’t walk, eat by herself, and soon found it difficult to even talk. By Jan. 20, my grandma was unable to talk and could barely open her eyes. I knew she was getting weaker.

At about 4:30 a.m. on Jan. 22, my grandma passed away and went to be with the Lord. She had passed away in her sleep, and there was no sign of a struggle; she went in peace.

It’s surreal for me right now, realizing that she actually is gone, but throughout this whole process I have seen God’s hand in everything. He planned out every detail from allowing each of my family members to say goodbye, to helping my grandma be as comfortable as she could be, and to showing me that He truly is in control of all things.

I am experiencing the joy of knowing that as followers of Jesus Christ we can have hope in the eternal life in Heaven. Although it’s hard knowing that she isn’t here and looking back at memories, I know that she is in the fullness of God now, and that is something to rejoice in.

There’s no more pain, no more worries, no more sadness, no more fear. I believe that my grandma served her full purpose on earth, and now sits in God’s presence, praising Him for everything that He has blessed her with.

My grandma never needed recognition for anything she did and always made sure that she was serving others before herself. She was gentle, compassionate, caring, cheerful, forgiving, and knew how to make someone feel valued.

Even though my grandma won’t be here for things like holidays, Grandparent’s Day at school, my high school graduation, and simply at my house everyday when I come home from school, those aren’t the things I want to focus on.

As a follower of Christ, I can look forward to the day when I will be with God and get to be with my grandma again in Heaven. There’s not a better way to remember my grandma than to think about the selfless, humble and joyful woman of God she was, and to strive to be like her in following the Lord with my whole heart.

Every moment I spent with my grandma was special and I realized that although time is short, God knows the perfect timing for all things. It’s hard to connect that she’s not here anymore, but for right now I am thanking God for all the memories I had with her and rejoicing that she is experiencing full joy in God’s presence.

For more columns, read the Jan. 25 article, U.S. espionage requires new forms of intelligence-gathering, or GOP contest narrows after preliminary primaries.