I Remember Grandma (Part I)

My maternal grandmother went to be with Jesus in November 1988. She died at the age of 84. Although she has been gone a while, as time passes, I am increasingly impressed by how intimate her relationship with her Savior was. With her, the themes celebrated on certain holidays, such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, et cetera, were observed every day that she lived. She believed in practicing the presence of the Lord well before that phrase was popularized in Christendom. While she was one of the most consistent Christ-focused people I’d ever known, no one could rightfully accuse Grandma of not being a realist. Born January 6, 1904, in an obscure small town in North Carolina, she raised two sets of children—for a total of five—survived three husbands, and what I term “the REAL Civil Rights Movement” that took place in the 1950s and 60s, a number of assassinations of major American leaders, and yet her biblically-centered worldview remained unflinching! It was clear to us, even as children, that verses like Philippians 2:5 were a part of the fabric of her soul—“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.”

Lest you, dear reader, believe that my Grandma “walked on water,” let me just add, you had better not try too many times during a two-hour stretch in the early afternoon to arrest her attention when her two favorite soap operas were on television. (Even then, she gave you a firm, yet gentle “SHhh!” ) Grandma’s most frequently given counsel to us as kids was ‘Study hard and do well in school, obey your parent(s); and as long as you aren’t being told to disobey the Lord your God, obey those in authority over you. (Acts 5:29; Rom. 13:1) Treat others as you want them to treat you’ (Matthew 7:12). These principles, no doubt, helped me to circumvent much of the trouble experienced by my peers, then and now.

PRAYER: Dear Abba, thank You for your gracious provision of a godly grandmother—one who showed by her life example what it means to trust in Jesus, come what may, and to aspire to love others with the same love wherewith Christ loves us. Amen!
By Sis. Denise Diggs