My first tribute in this series is to someone I think fondly of from time to time, even though she’s been gone for a while.
Grandma Lizzie was my dad’s mom, and of three grandmothers she’s the one I knew the best. My grandma had to be the most spirited, funniest lady I’ve ever known. We spent a lot of time with her as youngsters, because my mom was deceased and my dad worked a lot to support us. When I look back on time spent with Grandma Lizzie, I laugh a lot, because she had so many witty comments that used to have us in stitches as little kids. Thinking back, some of them were borderline risque for a Pastor’s wife such as herself.
My best memory is sitting on her lap as a little girl and reading to her from a book or the newspaper or something. She was very interested in doing what she could to help me be a better student. She had a chair in the corner of the living/dining room with a lamp over it where she would catch up on the news.
I remember almost every feature of her house, which stood right across from the church my grandfather pastored. I remember playing in the huge backyard, the two little dogs who lived on the back porch (one’s name was patches, can’t remember the other one), the downstairs that could only be accessed from the back porch, where one of my older cousins lived for a good while. There were also preserves stored down there that my grandma canned as a hobby, I guess. Then there was the kitchen where she used to cook Sunday dinner. I remember the entire family gathering after church to eat and laugh and joke. I think I miss that the most.
Grandma was our Sunday School teacher and our YPWW teacher (for those of you who know what that is). She used to go through the lessons line by line and we used to be so bored! She was very repetitive, but I cherish some of the things she taught us to this day. When she talked about prayer she would always say, “Prayer is talking to God and expressing the sincere desires of your heart.” I remember she used to say that when you’ve given something your best and people still want to criticize, all you can do is “Look up to God and be dismissed.” Recently I’ve found myself using that quote from so many years ago in my own life.
I remember Grandma and Dada (that’s what we called my grandpa) sitting on the front porch as relatives, friends, church members, and people just passing by dropped in to chat for a while. I think their house was a place where everybody always felt welcome and loved. Between her and my uncle, her youngest son, they had a nick name for just about everyone in town, including each of us grands. After my grandfather’s death, she moved into a duplex that was right by my elementary school. I remember getting in trouble for getting home late from school because I would go there to visit with grandma before going home.
There are so many memories, and so much I can say, but the one thing I know and will always cherish, is that this lady loved me. She thought the world of her grandchildren and she always had encouraging things to say. She used to say that if she got to choose how long she would live, she would want to live long enough to see us grow up and have families of our own.
That didn’t turn out to be God’s plan for her. I remember standing at the foot of her hospital bed as a jr. high schooler, not knowing what to say as I looked into her eyes. I remember the sound of the ventilator, and I remember not understanding the gravity of the situation. To an onlooker she was an older lady in the ICU, which is not a good sign, but to me she was grandma. I wanted to talk to her and hug her, I wanted her to be her usual self. I remember hearing talk of amputation and nursing homes, I didn’t really understand the details but I know that it was only a few days after that and she was gone. I think I was a grown woman before I really realized just how significant a loss this was for me.
She was my cheerleader, my caregiver, and the most loving, non-judgemental embrace that I’ve ever felt to this day. I felt loved and validated in her presence, something that likely sustained me during some rough years. Sometimes, I long to sit down and have a conversation with her as an adult, because to me, she was so insightful and wise. I picture her now with those jumper dresses, and knee high stockings, and I have to smile. I thank God for having had such a wonderful person in my life.
Posted by nessalynn77 
Posted by nessalynn77 