Blessed Assurance

*** This is a long one. Grab a cup of coffee and fluff up the pillows. You're gonna be here a while. ***

Today, I am remembering the woman who was my very best friend for 22 years...my grandmother Martha Janet. 83 years ago today God blessed the world with her beautiful spirit. I loved her so much, and she loved me even more. She taught me how to read, write, and gave me the great love for music that I have today.

So many of my pleasant childhood memories include my grandmother.

She sang beautifully and could play a mean organ. She could play for hours as I would go through her song book and say, "Grammy...play this one". And she would. Then I'd choose another, "Play this one Grammy". And she would. She never said no.

She loved the song Blessed Assurance, and every now and then my grandpa would join in and sing along in his booming James Earl Jones-esque voice. I LOVED those times!

Other times, I would lay underneath my Grammy's organ bench and just watch her feet move across the pedals. Count tell you how many times I fell asleep under there. I know that it sounds odd, but it was just so peaceful under that bench just watch Grammy's feet move while listening to her play.

I could go on and on with the memories of my grandmother. Here are just a few:

She would always save me the last drop of coffee in her cup.
She would send me in the backyard to pick apples so that she and I could make a pie. After her heart attack I stayed with her for the entire summer to be her nurse & get her back to health. I'll never forget the time that she asked me to make her a peanut butter and lettuce sandwich. Gladly, I rushed into the kitchen and prepared the sandwich. I was so proud of myself. Here I was...making lunch for Grammy. What an honor! I take the sandwich to her...she takes a bite...I ask her how it is...she pauses...swallows, and asks me in her loving grandmotherly tone..."Dida (that was what she & my grandpa called me) where did you get the lettuce for the sandwich?"

I replied, "From the refrigerator".
She asks, "Where in the refrigerator?"
So I describe the drawer where I got it from.

I begin to sense that something might be wrong.
So I ask, "What's wrong Grammy? Is your sandwich bad?"

She just looks at me, smiles, and says, "It's really good. I've never had a peanut butter and CABBAGE sandwich before."

OOPS!

We laughed and laughed...and I quickly made my Grammy another sandwich...this time...with LETTUCE.

I remember the daily walks that we'd take in the neighborhood. Trash day was our favorite day to walk because we'd find so much change on the sidewalk on those days. We'd have contests to see who would collect the most change. We had so much fun we didn't even realize how far we had walked most days. Grammy was getting better. She was getting stronger, and I was her nurse.

She would encourage me to write stories and one day when I went to visit, she had a brand new typewriter waiting for me...so that I could type my stories...lots of them.

I remember how I got her to stop smoking. This was a BIG one! She told me that she needed me to help her. We tried many methods but none of them worked, until...one day...

I was so angry with her for smoking because I knew that it was hurting her and making her sick. So I said, "Grammy, I know how to make you stop smoking. Any time I see you with a cigarette, I am going to HIT you."

I don't know where this came from. I don't even think I was 10 years old at the time, but this was the best idea I could come up with. And the catch was...she could NOT hit me back.

Now I don't know how YOU were brought up, but I was brought up not to talk back to adults, and to HIT an adult (without being smacked back) was definitely out of the question.

Grammy looked at me for a minute, considered my proposition and agreed. We had a DEAL!

Well, true to my word...the first next time I saw Grammy with a cigarette in her hand, I PUNCHED her...in the arm I think. She quickly gave me a look that said, "I am about to whip your tail." I looked right back at her and said, "No, no...you said I could, remember?"

I tell you...that was the LAST cigarette Grammy ever attempted to smoke. She never picked one up after that. Mission Accomplished!

I remember how she took care of my brothers while my mom worked. It was always such a treat to get home from school and Grammy was there. I hated to see her go.

I remember when I first got my license and I was driving her to a doctor's appointment. On the way there, I got pulled over, and got a ticket. I was frantic because I didn't want my parents to know that I got a ticket...they might not let me drive again if they knew.

Grammy calmed me down and we made a deal. Since she was at our house everyday, she told me that she would check the mail, and when the ticket arrived, she would take it and pay it so that my parents wouldn't have to know about it. Such a "life saver" she was.

I remember when she came to the hospital to see my brand new baby, Lauren. Grammy held Lauren, admiring her beautiful red hair. She had never seen a baby with such pretty hair. Grammy said, "I'm going to call her Penny". I said, (in my "I'm-grown- now voice"), "No Grammy. Her name is Lauren, not Penny." Grammy said, "Fine...but she looks like a pretty penny to me."

On that same visit, I remember getting snappy once more (it must've been the hormones because I would've never been mean to my grandmother in my right mind). Lauren was skin was (and still is) very very light. For whatever reason, I had her right in the sunlight. Grammy told me that I needed to keep her out of the sun. It wasn't good for her skin, being so light. She told me to make sure that she wore hats out in the sun. I snapped at Grammy and said,"I know what to do with her, she's my baby".

At that moment, someone should have punched ME. Had to be the hormones, just had to be. That is the only bad memory that I have with my grandmother, and it was only bad because of MY stupid behavior.

I greatly wish that all my babies could have had the chance to know Grammy and experience her love as I did. Lauren was the only one that ever got to be held in her loving arms. Sadly, Lauren doesn't remember. She was only 8 months old when Grammy died...waaay too soon.

I could go on and on and on. I had 22 years of wonderful memories and there's just no way to post them all here. For now, I'll leave you with the lyrics to her favorite song, Blessed Assurance by Frances J. Crosby:

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.

Refrain:
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long;
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long.

Perfect submission, perfect delight,
Visions of rapture now burst on my sight;
Angels, descending, bring from above
Echoes of mercy, whispers of love.

Perfect submission, all is at rest,
I in my Savior am happy and blest,
Watching and waiting, looking above,
Filled with His goodness, lost in His love.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRAMMY!

One day, we WILL sing this song together.

Let the DIALOGUE begin! What is your favorite memory with your grandparents?

Talk to me!

Til next time...