Ann was in her late eighties when her adult granddaughter asked, “Grandma, what was the very best time in your life? 

 

Ann was one of 10 kids born to Norwegian immigrants who arrived at Ellis Island and settled on the North Dakota prairie. She came from tough stock, and was raised in the kind of circumstances where you either made do — or you did without.

 

She and her husband briefly moved to Seattle during World War 2. At that time, Ann was a real-life Rosie the Riveter, working as a riveter in a big city factory to support the war.

 

She was also a cook for cowboys on the open range on a large ranch. Her husband Olaf helped manage the ranch, and Ann hauled water and cooked hearty meals over an open fire with a baby on her hip.  

 

Not one to stay home and bake cookies, Ann was an office manager in their small hometown when they returned to raise their daughters — an astonishing feat for a woman and mother in the 1950’s. 

 

Romans 14:8 says, “If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.” 

 

And as for the very best time in Ann’s life? 

 

“Well,” Ann replied, “I think the very best time in my life was my early 40s, when I learned I could have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.”

 

Travel. Adventure. Daring feats on the dusty prairie and the factory floor. Ann was a woman who had truly lived — and her best adventure of all was taking her relationship with the Lord to the next level. 

 

Live as if living for the Lord, and whether you live or die, you’ll know you have eternity in heaven to look forward to by God’s grace. That’s living in a Jesus state of mind.

 

Let’s pray. 

 

Lord, thank you for men and women who inspire us to live our lives for you. May we grow and thrive in their light — reaching for you as we learn by their example. Amen.