Euology: Para mi AbuelitaAs the oldest of her four grandchildren, I am honored to stand before you and speak about my Abuelita, Theresa Ocampo Bellina. Although this has been a difficult time for me and my family, I am at peace knowing she is with our Lord and Savior, for 2 Corinthians 5:8 says, "to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord."
As most of us have experienced, grandparents are special people who spoil you rotten and scold their children for scolding you. My Abuelita was special alright, but she didn't necessarily soil me rotten or scold my mom for scolding me. In fact, she knew what was best for me and instead she told me every time she could to take care of my parents and respect them because they are the only parent's I have. Instead of spoiling me rotten with material things, she prayed for me daily, told me amazing stories that sometimes I thought were made up just to scare me, she made me laugh, and most of all loved me with all she had. She helped raise me, she comforted me when my parents would leave for work, she cooked these cute miniature meals for me and she cared for me, always. I loved watching my Abuelita sing and dance; it was her favorite thing to do. Along with watching novelas, spending time with family and praying. She was always full of surprises and as you may have seen in our phots, she was very playful with all of us.
I always saw my Abuelita as strong woman who feared God more than anyone I knew. In fact, she was so strong; she was watering her grass the night before she passed. She had so much courage and a very forgiving heart. Although my mother took great care of her, Abuelita still liked to be an independent woman. I am sorry today for taking advantage of any time I had with her. Because her mother passed away in her 90's I thought I had more time with her, it just goes to show that tomorrow is never certain and that we should show and tell our loved ones how much they mean to us every day. For some reason, I always felt Abuelita would never leave us, physically. Deep down inside I know she will never leave, as she lives in me and in all the lives she has touched. The Dream on Earth is that a man is not truly gone, until he is forgotten. She will live on through each and every one of us here today.
I am so thankful for the memories I shared with Abuelita from my childhood, to my teen and tween years, and to adulthood. I was so thankful and blessed to have her watch me get married. Most of you know she didn't like leaving her house unless it was for church on Sunday; but she wasn't going to miss my wedding for the world. My last memory of her, and I think she planned this, was when I told her she was going to be a Vis Abuelita, a Great Grandmother on Mother's Day a few weeks ago. She was so happy, she started to cry and said, "We'll see if I get to know the baby." Every time she spoke this way. I told her not to say those things...when all the while, she was just trying to prepare us...for the natural cycle of life.
Now, I know, no matter what I say or do, Abuelita will not physically appear. No matter how hard or how much I cry I will not hear her sweet voice or see her beautiful smile; however crying does help to ease the pain I've been feeling since she left us. All in all we must remember that every cloud has its silver lining, a ray of hope and sunshine for every difficult time in our lives. I've always known that God will never put us through anything we cannot handle. For me to expect Abuelita to live forever on earth would be selfish. I always knew this day would come, yet I never thought it would come so soon. I will always remember the stories Abuelita shared with me, the lessons she taught me, the love she gave me and I will gladly pass on her legacy to my own children and family.
Abuelita, Gracias por todo, Dios te bendig y te quiero mucho. Nosotros estamos rescando por ti.
