From A Grandson

What I learned: Legacy.

From the time I was a kid I had always heard about little things my Grandma had done for other people. Most of it included some kind of baking cakes; bread, all sorts of treats.  One thing I specifically remembered was my Grandma teaching adults how to read.  She taught reading as a second language to international folks, and later I learned she even taught adults that just needed help learning to read.

About a year or so ago Grandma was having an episode; it was one of those times we thought she was about to leave us. Our family had split up into shifts to stay with her overnight. Haley, Jodi and I gladly volunteered to stay and we treated it like a big sleepover with our Grandma. We laughed, joked and carried on like we do. There was a moment during that night Grandma was having a tough time and it took all 3 of us to keep her under control. It was one of the first times I remember seeing true fear on my Grandma’s face. 

 She was scared, she was hurting and there really wasn’t much we could do to stop the pain. We managed to get Grandma settled into her bed, still stricken with panic she reached over to her nightstand, picked up a bible and began reading. I looked on with amazement, she wasn’t reaching for a hug from us, or asking for medication, she was reaching for comfort and she knew the only true comfort would come from the words she had lived her entire live by.  After a few moments reading her bible she calmed down and began to rest. 

She had found her comfort.

When this past weekend came it was once again time for our family to divide up into shifts to stay with Mama, Grandma.  Haley, Jodi and I took the Sunday night shift. We decided this night we would treat it like a sleepover again, just like any night we ever stayed with Grandma. We pulled up chairs around her, shared some good memories, and talked about life. 

 I found Grandma’s Bible laying on her night stand and remember the last time we were all staying and Grandma’s.  I thought it would be good to read to Grandma from her Bible. When I picked it up it fell apart into several pieces--it had some miles on it. My thumb happened to grab a page that was entirely appropriate for the moment.  Psalms 6. The chapter talked about a person crying out to the Lord for relief from pain.  The author pleaded to God for rest for their tired bones.   I read it to myself in the moment… I felt the tears in my eyes and I knew I couldn’t read it aloud, I handed the book to Haley and she read it aloud while we all listened. We kissed Grandma Goodnight and she went to sleep.

Over the last year I have found myself at different times lost in my own life. I without thinking went straight to the shelf and grabbed the Bible and turned to a page and just read what I found.  It wasn’t till just a day or so ago I realized without even knowing it; Grandma had passed her legacy to me.  In addition to many others, she had also taught me “how to read”.