5/09/2016

A Godly GRAND-MOTHER'S Influence....


OLD FASHIONED

A Fitting Memorial to a Godly Christian Grandmother...  from a dear Christian friend who did NOT have a Godly, Christian mother. 

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Today was Mother's Day at our church and our Pastor and Deacon handled it so well, reminding all mothers that they are to be a GOOD EXAMPLE of a CHRISTIAN to their families.
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A few Grandmothers were present and were thanked audibly in the Prayer, Praise, and Testimony time. That was fitting. Because of the mature way they handled it all,  thanks were given but flesh was not lauded.  It was a good way to do this and no hearts were sore and sorrowing... mothers and non-mothers alike.  
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Today,  I remembered my Dad's mother, Ada, who lived in a VERY small country town, right by the railroad tracks. I think this is the first time I have remembered her on Mother's day.  Heretofore, focus was always upon Mom.
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Grandma was an anomaly to me; she was not like ANYONE I knew.  She  died when I was young... maybe 11 or 12... so I didn't know her for a long time.
 
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She was SUCH AN EXAMPLE of a Holy Christian.  I remember two things about her:  she never said a derogatory word about anyone... at times , she would close her lips and keep them closed... but that was it. 
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And, she was quiet and did not chatter along.   She was always so glad to see her children come, greeting them at the doorway with her quiet smile and a gladsome light in her eyes.
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kissing GRANNY
Grandchildren kissing grandmother
She would greet us and then bustle into the kitchen --- no matter how short a visit it was to be ---  to put out a vegetable meal with creamed corn, green beans,  peas, mashed potatoes and gravy ... with home-made bread, home-made jam, and applesauce, and sometimes:  Strawberry shortcake !  
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She always had a cake or pie prepared for such occasions.  ( They didn't have a phone until much later in life.)  She didn't serve meat because they were just poor and could not afford to buy it.  They used to butcher their own animals for meat, but by the time I knew them,  their butchering days were over.
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But The LORD, today, would not even let my mind drift towards sorrowing over my own mother... but rather, HE+ moved my mind to consider  GRANDMOTHER. 
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She was not the doting kind of Grandmother to us, but rather was quietly kind to all.  I remember being able to help her wash and dry dishes once; I loved it . It was REAL LIFE. 
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She pumped her water from a well out on the porch, heated water on her stove, and washed the dishes and rinsed them CAREFULLY with a cup of water  over a bowl, before I could wipe them.  The Mennonite ladies in the Old Order Communities remind me of Grandmother, in how they conduct themselves.  She was an old-time Methodist and took her church work very seriously.
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Today, for the first time,  I saw how The LORD used GRANDMOTHER to shape my life. 
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Daddy was not my biological father; mother had been married to an unfaithful young man, my physical father,  and divorced him.  Mom had gone through a lot of distress over her unfaithful husband. 
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But Grandmother was not happy with Daddy's marriage to Mom.  Although she never spoke a word about it, it went against her Christian standards.
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But Mom regarded Grandmother. 
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So, to do right, my Mom started making me say the "Now I lay me down to sleep"  prayer every night, kneeling on my bed. ( I was 4 when this happened, when we moved to a large town  after Daddy married Mom. Before that time, Mom never prayed with me, read the Bible, or attended church. Nobody in Mom's family did.) 
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Then,  my mother taught me --- every night --- to say Psalm 23 and then the LORD'S PRAYER.   I was very little, not even in kindergarten yet. But, Mom did this as long as I could remember while I was in kindergarten.  .
Mom started sending me to a nearby church for Sunday School every Sunday.  I had to walk the few blocks alone.  ( It was a different world back then. )  I remember her dressing me up, doing my pig-tails, and me bringing home Sunday School papers. 
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All THIS WAS BECAUSE of GRANDMOTHER'S INFLUENCE.  Mom thought GRANDMOTHER would approve of this up-bringing.... which I never had before GRANDMOTHER entered my family circle. 
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Oddly enough, when we moved to the farm ( I was six and starting 1st grade ) , Mom quit doing that with me.  I suppose she was too busy with my little brother, who was a toddler, and doing the garden and house work.  She did not say nightly prayers with any of my brothers and sister like she did with me, never.
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But, she continued to send me to a close-by church for Sunday School and eventually church.  Daddy didn't care, one way or the other .... how sad, Grandmother's own son .... but Mom thought that was the way to "be good." 
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Mom later dropped all effort at being a Christian Mom and reverted back to how she was. I think if Dad would have done differently, Mom would have too --- at that point in her life  ----  before becoming so hardened in life, sadly enough.
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But GRANDMOTHER !   I think she never knew what great influence she exerted on me and my Mom, who had had NO  Christian  training or exposure. 

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Isn't that a marvelous testimony to a GODLY woman ? Truly, my friend, the influence of a Christian GRANDMOTHER cannot be over-rated .
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grandma-hair-in-action

PS... and you already know I am the ONLY ONE in my family who follows JESUS, to this day.

 

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