Grandmother...

My grandmother passed away this week.  It didn't come as a surprise, but rather a blessing.  She had been suffering with Alzheimer's for the past few years.  This debilitating disease robbed us of an incredible woman who was had a heart the size of Texas. 

She had so much love to give.  Her world and the view she was given might seem small to outsiders.  But inside her world, she found a way to shine and to contribute as much as she could.  She was a strong and resilient woman who suffered much in her years on this earth.  She never complained but continued to forge ahead making the best she could out of each and every situation.  She often found a way to broaden her view of the world through television soap operas and through romance books.  Deep inside she craved to be loved completely and thoroughly. She wanted her very own love story.

 She loved the Lord.  She spoke of him and taught His ways to all her family.  She found a way to connect the teachings from the scriptures and apply it to everyday life.  She didn't come across as a zealous bible thumper, but in her own quiet way, she was able to reach out to many and touch their lives with good.

Grandmother was the quintessential nurturer.  She loved everyone and became their mother whether by blood or relationship.  She was thoughtful of other's feelings and desires.  She attempted to please everyone and desired peace and harmony above all else.  You could not be in her presence without her calm, quiet manner effecting your own heart.  She loved.  That's all that can be said.  She simply loved.  She loved the old, the young, the sinner and the saint. 

We will all miss her.  She contributed to each of our lives in a different way.  What I will choose to remember is the woman who refused to wear short sleeves because of scars she received from skin grafts taken  in order to help out someone who needed it.  I will choose to remember a woman who was willing to overcome her fears of a large city and the bustling traffic in order to visit and stay with her daughter and grandchildren.  I will remember a woman who was thoughtful and would bake a mincemeat pie or raisen pie for my mother each visit we made to the little house off the red dirt road.  I will remember a woman who saw in me more than a large,chubby child., She  recognized my desire to belong.  She knew that I was of value before I did.  She knew that I needed love more than critisim.  She found a way to reach out to me through books.  She shared with me her passion for romance.  She gave me one of her books and opened a whole new world to me.  She made a difference in my life.  I am a better person because she cared about me.