Excerpt
Growing up in a small town outside of Shreveport, LA, my mother was blessed to have two sisters and three brothers. Over the years they remained relatively close, the three sisters providing the ongoing connection. Each of the sisters was blessed to have children, the oldest sister was blessed to have two daughters and one son, the middle sister (my mother) was blessed to have one daughter and the youngest sister was blessed to have three sons and one daughter. My mother and my aunts sought to raise us in the way that they were raised, trusting in the Lord and leaning not unto their own understanding. As children, we went to church regularly, we sang in the choir, we ushered and we went to Baptist Training Union (BTU).
Each of us loved our grandparents and each summer we all went to visit them. This was fun because we got a chance to spend time on a farm, picking vegetables, churning butter, shelling peas and eating our grandmothers wonderful cooking. This was also a time when we were able to re-connect because we werent able to do many of the things that we were use to doing at home like going to the store for candy, watching a lot of TV and going to play with our friends. We learned to use our imagination and to appreciate talking to each other. Believe me, there were arguments and squabbles on a daily basis but we werent able to stay mad at each other for long.
Our grandparents were very poor people but they were also very loving and giving people. They taught us to be thankful for everything that was given to us no matter where it came from. They also taught us to serve God no matter what happened in our lives. If we didnt have enough food we thanked God for what we had; if we didnt have any money, we still thanked God. I recall hearing my grandparents call on the name of the Lord often. Many times it was when they had been working in the fields and they were tired. Other times it was when they were sitting on the front porch looking out across the fields lost in thought, or when they were praying out loud at Union Chapel Methodist Church. Calling on the name of the Lord was like calling the name of a member of the family.
At the end of each summer our parents came to pick us up and we all went back to our separate lives. Each of us went home with many fond memories of our summers together with our grandparents. Our grandmother was special to each of us. She would write us letters after we returned home. During the school year, if we got a good grade or if we got straight As, we couldnt wait to call and tell Grandmamma. On Christmas morning, once the gifts were open, the first thing we did was call to tell her what Santa Claus had brought us. She was always so excited and interested in whatever we had to say and we always knew she was proud of us and loved us. Our grandmother kept us connected all year until the following summer when we would all come together again. When our grandmother passed away our summers together ended. We didnt realize it at the time but she had been our family bond and without her we drifted apart. Every time my cousins and I saw each other at a family event we promised that we would stay in touch but somehow we never did. After high school each of us went our separate ways. Some of us stayed close to home, some of us went into the military and some of us just drifted. Several of us got married only to have problems in those marriages. When we did happen to see each other the conversation always turned to Grandmamma. It was then that I began to realize that our Grandmamma had been the most significant person in our lives and we were all still feeling the loss of her. It was as if her leaving us had somehow left us without a foundation.
Years later, when I truly gave my life to God and began to study His Word and apply it to my life, I realized that my cousins and I had made our grandmother the foundation of our lives. She represented stability. She provided unconditional love, she comforted us and she made us feel safe. It was like the story in the Bible when Jesus was on the ship and the seas were tossing to and fro and the disciples became frightened and woke Jesus. They did this because they were afraid and He represented stability to them. Jesus rebuked the disciples because they lost their faith during the storm. Our grandmother had been our calming force as we faced lifes storms. We had faith in her ability to see us through anything. Without her we felt lost. I know now that our faith was misplaced. The real foundation our grandmother was trying to give us was a foundation built upon faith in God. When we have faith in God we have the assurance of knowing that He will see us through anything and that no problem is too large for Him. When we trust God and obey His statues He will provide a light unto our path and will show us the direction and purpose for our lives.
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