Mamaw Goza

A week ago Sunday, we lost Mamaw Goza (Justin's grandmother). Last week was spent traveling and being with family. It was a sad time, but it was also a celebration of her life. Justin spoke at the funeral and did a great job. He talked about her ability to cook and how she would take pleasure in proving food for others. It gave her joy to serve others. Justin remembered how she would always be willing to cook whatever he and his cousins managed to hunt from deer to squirrels. He also mentioned how she took joy in her family. She was always thrilled to have her grandchildren with her. One story that I loved was from Justin's cousin, Molly. She remembered back to when she was a little girl and she would pick out one of Mamaw's flashy shirts that had a fringe cut in the sleeves and along the bottom of the shirt with beads run along each piece of fringe. She would practice her dance routine all day long. As soon as Papaw came in from the fields, his ritual was to sit down and watch Wheel of Fortune. Molly was so anxious to show off her hard work and would perform for Papaw and Mamaw (smack dab in front of the TV, no less) and dance her heart out. Papaw patiently watched and Mamaw cheered Molly on; she loved it. Mamaw wanted Molly to do it over and over. Not only did she enjoy a good show, she was known to put on a few herself. As I hear, at Christmas she would dance around the living room doing a Minnie Pearl impersonation; cutting jokes and passing out gifts. She was such a character! So many people came to her viewing and many of them spoke of the same things; her love for her family, her humor and "...boy could she cook!" Her cooking legacy is one that I will remember. When Justin and I were first married, he had to go out of town for a week. So I pack up and went to his parents house. Mamaw was there and I told her that I wanted her to teach me one of her special recipes. She wrote down the recipe for Cabbage Rolls (one of Justin's favorites). We got all the ingredients and began to cook! Mamaw shared with me, not only instructions on how to handle the fragile cabbage leaves, but also a few secret items that weren't written down. Cabbage Rolls were a family tradition brought from Germany; her mother taught her and now she was teaching me. What an honor. Most importantly though, her death was not a final goodbye. It was actually homecoming. What perfect peace we have in Christ Jesus. While we thank and praise God for the amazing woman, mother, grandmother and friend she was to us on earth, we also rejoice in the woman she was for God. We will see her again. And next time, no aches, no pains, no wrinkles, just her amazing spirit and a twinkle in her eye.