my yiayia

i was just looking through some pictures and i saw a picture of my yiayia. yiayia is greek for grandmother. my grandma doesn't have a smiggen of true greek blood in her, but my grandpa (papou) was greek. they spend a good portion of their lives in greece as missionaries. the greek people are permenantly etched in her heart.


we never lived close to them growing up. they would come and visit for 3-4 week stretches at a time. they moved to michigan while i was in college when they were in a couple accidents and their age began to show a little more. i took a year off in between undergrad and grad school. it was such a special time for me to get to know their tender hearts and for us to pour into each other--in very different ways. i was the "doctor" and they were the encouragers. papou was always my cheerleader! papou passed away almost 3 years ago and it still pains me to think that he will not be at my wedding or meet my children. i can't wait to see him again!
yiayia is 91 and she lives in a nursing home about 5 minutes away from my parents. she has Alzheimer's disease and is the sweetest confused woman alive. with my last visit at Christmas, she recognized my face but the name has disappeared. it is a dreadful disease, but i really do believe that it is harder on us then her. she is a priceless jewel and i'm so thankful for her steadfastness to Christ even in the midst of a failing memory.

may i grow up to be like my grandparents.