Last words can be funny. Because life is a gift, we never really know what our last words will really be. I am hoping my kids will say my last words to them were “I love you.” One, because I say it to them all the time. But also, because if we get disconnected in a phone call, I will call them back just to say, “I don’t have anything else to say, but I didn’t get to tell you I love you.”

My grandmother’s last words to me caught me by surprise. Meme, as she was known to me, had been in the hospital for a few weeks and in that gray space between heaven and earth. We were all taking turns sitting with her and it was my turn. She was asleep when I arrived, so I just slipped in and sat near her bed reading my book. Soon some nurses came in to check her vitals, but she barely stirred. Others drifted in and out to check on her, clean her room, fix her bed, but she remained still with her eyes closed. Near the end of my “shift” two more nurses came into the room to adjust my grandmother in the bed, in that moment she opened her eyes and said something. Meme said something, the first something in several days and I missed it!

This was a woman who was known for her words. She was the first female to graduate from the LSU School of Journalism. In her day, women only wrote on the society page, so in order to get the “grittier” news assignments she wrote under a man’s byline. She was a magazine contributor, published author and later in life the editor of her local newspaper. Yes, this was a woman who made a life and a living with her words, so when Meme said something you listened.

What pearl of wisdom did I miss that day in the hospital? So I asked her. Leaning in closer I said, “Meme, what did you say?” Again, she opened her eyes and then she looked me square in the face and said, “you’re killing me damn it!” Not what I was expecting, but her last words to me anyway that still make me smile every time I think about her.

These are my last words to you, the readers of the RPJ as I am moving out of the area to take a new position for the United Methodist Church of Louisiana. Thank you for this opportunity to share my journey with you these last few months. My grandmother would have been so proud of me. As my journey continues, I pray yours will too. Take it all in and don’t miss a moment.

On the journey,
Ramonalynn Bethley

Ramonalynn Bethley is the Lead Pastor (until June 30) at First United Methodist Church of Alexandria. You can contact her directly at RLbethley@la-umc.org