Grandmothers are awesome! They’re full of love and they have an amazingly quirky sense of humor. They also tend to inspire us and lift us up when we need it the most. Plus, they make great listeners. Now, when women are young, some of them dream about what their wedding will look like one day, and although their special day may be years in the future, there’s one person they can’t imagine not being there for their wedding and that’s their grandmother. Just ask Valerie Stultz, whose grandmother passed away, but she still managed to lend a hand at Valerie’s wedding in the most special way ever.They shopped, went to doctor’s appointments together, and even attended school and sports events. In fact, Valerie loved going to her grandma’s house because she always felt safe and secure, and there were plenty of snacks, hugs and smiles waiting for her.
The grandmother had stayed in Iowa, but Valerie would still stay in touch with her and she’d visit her every summer. As Valerie grew older, she started having grown-up conversations with her. Valerie’s grandmother made her promise to graduate college and to find a good man to marry.
Her grandmother was in the ICU. This wasn’t the first time, but she always bounced back. So, even though she was far away, Valerie hoped she would get to speak to her, and she got her wish. Her grandmother called and they had a wonderful conversation about Valerie’s college semester.
Sadly, the grandmother passed away in May 2015, a year before Valerie’s college graduation. Grams had only met one person Valerie had dated, but not her future husband. So, while dividing up her belongings, Valerie came across a Precious Moments figurine and a wedding dress, which would play a huge role in her life later on.
She recalls crying while holding her graduation cap in the Hobby Lobby because she missed her grandmother, but knew that she would have been so damn proud of her. That same year in October, she met the man of her dreams and the two started dating.
Her wedding day was even more special because she was able to wear her grandmother’s beautiful wedding dress, which hadn’t been worn in 60 years. Not only had it survived the passage of time, but it fit her perfectly. Shockingly enough, it was even the style and shade of white that Valerie had wanted all along!
To her, this felt like a sign from Heaven that her marriage to her husband was blessed from the very beginning, and that her grandmother was celebrating from up above. But that wasn’t the only surprise that Valerie got during her wedding.
She was holding a silver gift bag, which Valerie opened. There was a styrofoam box which contained the Precious Moments figurine, which said, “My granddaughter, a beautiful bride.” To Valerie, this felt as though her grandmother was giving her blessing.
She believes that her grandmother would have loved her husband because he is kind, loyal, a hard worker, and very funny, which is the kind of man her grandmother would have picked out for her. She could picture her grandmother and husband talking about line dancing, farming, and so much more.
Up until the wedding, the weather had been rainy, cold and snowy. But on her wedding day, the sun came out and the temperature was neither too cold nor too hot. Thanks to the dress and the Precious Moments doll, Valerie felt like her grandmother was with her on the one day she needed her the most.
Of course, her grandmother wasn’t there in the physical sense, but Valerie felt that she attended the wedding anyway and was watching from Heaven. Just thinking about this made her emotional because she still loves and misses her grandmother, but she feels quite blessed to be her granddaughter. In every sense of the word, her grandmother isn’t gone, really, as she will forever live in her granddaughter’s heart.
