Mary Gallaher stood five feet four inches tall with a pile of blonde curls atop her head. She had fair Scandinavian skin, a warm smile, slightly crooked teeth, and arthritis in the tips of her fingers.
She mattered so much to me even though she had none of the things that the world would say are influential. She lived most of her life in a town of 500 people that few have ever heard of. She was unknown and unimpressive in the world’s eyes.
She never made a fortune.
Never wrote a book.
Never owned a fancy house.
Never ran for office.
Never went viral.
Never led a company.
Never traveled the world.
Never owned a laptop.
Never came up with a great invention.
Never stayed in a 5-star hotel.
Never had a social media account.
She taught third grade at the elementary school across the street from her house. She had three kids, a girl and two boys. She got married at nineteen years-old and stayed married to one man her entire life. Her husband Richard worked as a foreman in a meat packing plant for his whole career. They went fishing for walleye in the summers, played cribbage and watched The Price Is Right on TV.
But despite her hidden life, Mary Gallaher was an influencer of the greatest kind.
She buckled my life jacket before we went out on the boat.
She baked chocolate chip cookies and mailed them at Christmas.
She delighted in us kids and called us by nicknames.
She read books to us on the couch and used silly voices.
She laughed freely and corrected us lightly.
She let us drop toys down the laundry chute.
She cleaned up our messes and taught me to wash dishes.
She had an enormous collection of yellow National Geographic magazines.
She dressed up as Mrs. Clause at Christmas and let us be her elves and pass out gifts.
She wrote to me about the cardinals who ate at her bird feeders. And for years I thought that was so simple and small-minded, but now I see… it wasn’t. Instead of being self-absorbed she saw the world around her. These weren’t just any birds, they were God’s birds and she enjoyed them as good gifts from him.
Grandma often sent us cards and hand-written letters and on the bottom of almost every one she would write the letters: Y.A.S.S. (You Are Someone Special) And she meant it. To her I was someone special. I knew it. I felt it. I was special, not for what I had done, but simply for who I was. I was her grandson and that was enough.
Love is influential. Even when you’re too small to understand it, you know it. I have a little nephew in Seattle named Nathan. He’s a wild man and we have a special bond. One time his babysitter was driving him up the driveway while I was standing outside and later she told me that from his car seat he said: “That’s my Uncle John. He likes me.”
It’s such a profound and generous thing to be liked. Grandma liked almost everyone. She talked to strangers everywhere she went. At times it was almost embarrassing and yet it was endearing. How could she do that so freely, so effortlessly? Because she liked people before she even met them. And she assumed they wound like her too. There wasn’t a cynical or sarcastic bone in her body. She was the opposite of jaded or hardened. She was loving… and that is the most beautiful thing a person can be. In fact, it’s what we’re made for: to love God and love people. And Grandma Mary did those two things well.
Day after day and year after year she gave herself away to the people around her. No spotlight. No one posting about it. No media coverage. No money to be made. Just love. And day after day and year after year the little things added up.
The last few times I saw her she cried when we said goodbye. It struck me: I know thousands of people. She and my mom are the only ones who cry at our goodbye.
After I heard about Grandma’s death, I’ve had a sentence rolling around in my mind that Jesus spoke two thousand years ago. He said this:
“Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:43)
Jesus spoke this line to a criminal who was being crucified alongside him. We sometimes forget that on the day Jesus died he was not the only one being crucified. The Romans crucified thousands of people and that day there were two others who died alongside Jesus, one on his right and one on his left. They were condemned criminals. From the cross, one of them mocked Jesus. “If you’re the Christ, save yourself and us.” But the second one rebuked the first saying:
“Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” (Luke 23:40-42)
And here’s the sentence: Jesus said to him,
“Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”
This single sentence is packed with meaning. By it, Jesus declares:
1. Death is not the end. “You will be with me in Paradise.” You go on existing. You have a future. You live beyond death. When you pass away, you will leave your body behind, but continue to exist.
2. Death does not lead to purgatory or an intermediate state where people pay for their sins. “Today you will be with me in Paradise.” Today means without delay. Death is a direct flight. There are no stops or connections along the way. Jesus was saying, “As soon as you close your eyes in death, they will open in Paradise.”
3. Death does not lead to reincarnation. I know it’s popular to think that death leads to an infinite number of chances to learn what we’re supposed to learn. But when Jesus said, “Today you will be with me in Paradise,” he’s saying we don’t come back to the same place. When we die, we go to an entirely new place. In other places in the Bible, it’s referred to as a better country, our true homeland.
4. Death is a doorway. It leads somewhere. This world and this life are not all there is. There is something more, something beyond death. And I think deep down we all feel as humans have felt throughout the centuries: there has to be more. This world is so filled with pain and violence and brokenness. This can’t be all there is. And the good news is it isn’t. In fact, this life is the rehearsal for the life you were meant for. This is the training montage. It’s the warm-up for everything that comes next. Far from this life being meaningless, it is meaningful beyond our wildest imaginations. It turns out Maximus Decimus Meridius was right: “What we do in life echoes in eternity.” Our decisions count. Our words matter. Our beliefs lead somewhere. There’s a destination and it’s not death, it’s beyond death.
5. One destination Jesus calls Paradise. “Today you will be with me in Paradise.” Of course, in other places it’s called heaven, but in this sentence, we see that Paradise is defined as where Jesus is. “Today you will be with me in Paradise.” Sometimes our notions of heaven are fluffy and boring. They’re based on Renaissance paintings of clouds and little angels and harps. We imagine people in heaven don’t do anything but hang around on clouds. But to the thief on the cross Paradise was less like a painting and more like a kingdom. The thief said to Jesus, “Remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
And perhaps the thief had heard something of Jesus’ teaching before this moment for Jesus was often preaching about the kingdom of heaven and what it is like. Just think of the Lord’s prayer:
Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be your name
Your kingdom come,
Your will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
Heaven is a destination, and the main attraction is not the music, the food or reuniting with loved ones. The highlight of heaven is a throne and seated on that throne is Jesus in all of his glory. “You will be with me in Paradise.”
In Jesus’ kingdom, every wrong will be put right. Everything broken will be healed. Every tear will be wiped away. Death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore. Instead, beauty and peace will abound. Unity and harmony are normal. And the culture of heaven… the culture of heaven is joy.
Psalm 16:11 says, “In your presence there is fulness of joy and at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”
6. Paradise is not just a place for good people. Jesus promised Paradise to a condemned criminal. He was not a good guy. This thief on the cross was suffering the death penalty. He didn’t have his life together. Yet Jesus still welcomed him. “You will be with me…”
Jesus guaranteed it because getting into heaven is not a merit-based system. It’s not about being a pretty good person, doing more good than bad. It’s not about covering all your religious bases or growing up in the right family. The key to heaven is something far better. Listen again to the thief on the cross:
“Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” (Luke 23:40-42)
When the owner of a house doesn’t know you, he won’t invite you into his house. Even if you know about him. You know his name. You know his address. He must know you and then you’re welcomed in.
The key to heaven is being known by the King of heaven. It’s about opening your heart to a real relationship with Jesus.
7. The door of death swings open to two destinations. The other criminal who mocked and rejected Jesus did not get this same invitation. Not everyone goes to Paradise. More than anyone else in the Bible, Jesus spoke not only about heaven, but also about hell. He knew the reality that many people would reject him. Hell was created for the devil and his fallen angels, but it’s what we all deserve for our sin. The road is wide, and the way is easy. Jesus often warned about hell so that we would turn from of our sins and turn to him instead.
You’re not obligated to believe any of this. In fact, you’re free not to. But one reason I’d encourage you to consider it is this:
Mary Gallaher believed this and it made her who she was. She was no perfect saint. She had her broken parts and weaknesses as we all do. She grew up with a harsh and critical mother, who was really the opposite of her. Grandma could have repeated the pattern she had been handed.
But in the summer of 1943, this thirteen-year-old blonde Scandinavian girl went to a summer camp where she heard about Jesus and believed in him. It was simple. No voice from heaven. No angelic vision. She believed the word she heard about Jesus and opened her heart to a real relationship with him. This was the turning point moment of her life.
Grandma was who she was because of her relationship with Jesus. She loved us so unconditionally, not because she was some saint but because that’s how she had been loved by Jesus. Her love had a source. She was the bucket. Jesus was the ocean. She was the shadow. Jesus was the sun. If you liked Grandma, you’re really going to love Jesus because he has all of her best parts and none of her flaws.
Jesus also never made a fortune.
Never wrote a book.
Never owned a fancy house.
Never ran for office.
Never went viral.
Never led a company.
Never traveled the world.
Never owned a laptop.
Never came up with a great invention.
Never stayed in a 5-star hotel.
Never had a social media account.
And yet Jesus remains the most influential person in the history of the world.
The name of Mary Gallaher may be forgotten in another generation or two, but the name of Jesus has endured through every generation and is still spreading to every tribe, nation, people and, language.
I believe what Grandma would want most for each of us is to have our own turning point moment with Jesus, like she did, so that one day we’ll join her and Jesus in Paradise.
Your prayer can be as simple as: “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
And Jesus will still say in return, “You will be with me in Paradise.”
© 2025 John Rinehart