Grace grew up with 2 baby grand pianos and an organ in her living room and an upright practice piano in her bedroom. Her mother was a piano teacher, composer, arranger, and concert pianist. Each family member played instruments and sang in choirs, some having scholarships to music conservatories, and some singing professionally. In other words, she grew up surrounded by music.

When Grace was seven years old, she asked her mother questions as they said prayers together. Her mother explained the plan of salvation, and Grace understood everything. That night, she insisted on receiving Jesus as her Savior. After making sure Grace truly understood, her mother led her in a prayer of salvation.

The very next morning, eager to share her newfound faith, she marched into her pastor’s office while he was in a deacon’s meeting and stated, “I asked Jesus to come into my heart. He is my Savior. I need to be baptized today.” Sure enough, her pastor baptized Grace that very morning.

As she continued to grow, her faith journey had its challenges. In the 1970s, as Grace grew up in Southern California, she developed a love for the ocean. During her teen years, she occasionally ditched school to go to the beach and experimented with drugs. Her teens and twenties were marked by cycles of running to the Father and rededication. At age 20, after escaping an abusive marriage, Grace became a single parent. She experienced loneliness and depression, and eventually became addicted to IV drugs. At this low point, God intervened and brought her to Oklahoma for what was supposed to be a detox, but she ended up spending weeks enduring withdrawal without medical help. After her deliverance, God taught her about spiritual warfare.

Of course, we know she met Reed on the Sunday he was saved. He took her to lunch and was such a gentleman—he pulled out her chair and said, “Here you go, Sweet Darlin’,” and she was a goner—smitten. Four years later, they married and started raising Jessica. As Jessica excelled, earning music scholarships and moving to New York to pursue opera, Reed and Grace continued their lives together, raising four boys. Grace had miraculous home births and then homeschooled the boys.

Most of you probably know that Reed and Grace witnessed many miracles as they started and grounded their marriage and parenting around Jesus. Still, they suffered tragedy twice, as their oldest son, Levi, and then Kole passed. It was devastating, but God was their rock, their fortress, and refuge. He is near the brokenhearted. Grace often said she felt tethered to Jesus. She didn’t want to wander, but He wouldn’t let her.

Throughout the years of dating and early marriage, Reed and Grace would continually get prophetic words spoken over them from different people. They were always compared to “Oaks of Righteousness”—oaks with deep roots that, if you cut through, you would see rings that showed years of drought and years of fire, but still they would stand resilient beneath their branches. Grace would help people clean up their grievances against God.

That steadfastness led Grace to reach beyond her family. Over the following years, Grace spoke to women at various speaking engagements and retreats, participated in podcasts, and together with Reed, hosted a bereaved parents support group.

Grace’s earliest memory was just after she started kindergarten. She was in the bathroom when a “big brownie girl” (probably a 3rd grader) said, “You have to wash your hands before and after you use the bathroom.” As soon as Grace put her hands under the water, it ran all the way down her leg into her lacy socks and patent-leather shoes. Embarrassed, she refused to return to her class and face ridicule. Instead, she crouched low, ran past her room, and headed toward the front of the school. After passing the front office and reaching the sidewalk, she realized she had no idea how to get home.

She cried and said, “Jesus help me. I want my momma, and I don’t know how to get home. Please show me.” Each time she faced a choice—left or right—she prayed about which way to go and followed her feeling. Soon, she glimpsed the crossing guard and knew she was on her way home. Grateful, she thanked Jesus. Once in her mom’s arms, she said, “I asked Jesus to show me how to get home, and He did.”

As she was headed to her eternal home, she told me she was trusting Jesus to show her the way home once again.

Grace Whitnah is preceded by her parents, John Thomas (J.T.) and LaJuana Hilliard; Bob and Sue; and her sweet sons Kole and Levi. She is survived by her husband, Reed Whitnah; her children, Jessica Hilliard and Aitan Eliach; Noah and Vanessa Whitnah; Justice and Angel Whitnah; her grandchildren Chariot, Sparrow, Bravery, Kaleo, Koehn, and Kanyon. We love you, Gigi!