Forever Beloved

Faith, Love & Truth

life lessons {part 2}

this is my dear, sweet grandma freeman.  my grandma was an amazing woman who made this world a better place just by her presence here.   she had a way with words that would sure make us laugh.  there are quotes of hers that will be repeated in our family for years to come.
when i was little, going to my grandma and grandpap freemans house was such a big deal.  they lived in “town”, which was so different from where i lived.  they got more than 2 channels on their tv, they had neighbors that they weren’t related to and they lived so close to stores and restaurants.  i would get so excited when i knew we were going to their house to visit, it was such a treat!  in the summers i would spend a few days a week there, which was so exciting.  grandma would always let me watch whatever i wanted on tv (nickelodeon, i love lucy and romper room were among my favs) and we would always walk to the playground near her house (it never failed, i would have to pee as soon as we got there and we would have to walk back home).  
grandma always had a heart for travel, which i admired.  she traveled all over the united states.  i can still remember looking at her photo albums and getting lost in the pictures.  i would ask her a million questions about them, which i’m sure got on her nerves but she never once complained or hushed me.  she would just answer them, over and over.  i traveled all over through her stories and pictures.
so many life lessons i learned from my grandma.  love God, love your family and love those sweet babies (my kids).  she taught me the value of hard work.  in any task she did, she put her full 100% into it.  it’s not worth doing if you’re not going to do it right.  and of course, pee before you go to the playground.
as grandma grew older, i learned the most important lesson not only from her but also from my mom.  i learned what it truly meant to love and honor someone.  to not only respect them but to put them first before yourself.  honor them with your thoughts, your actions and your words.  honoring is not always easy, is not always fun, and is certainly not possible in our own strength.  but honoring our parents is certainly glorifying God.  the relationship between my grandma and my mother was an amazing, sweet relationship that was truly filled to the brim {and overflowing} with honor.  and it gave me such a great example to model my own relationship with my parents after.  i can only imagine how many other relationships were touched just by watching the amazing example these two women set.  “Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord” ~Colossians 3:20  
i am blessed to have had this sweet woman in my life as long as i did and that she got to be such a big part of my children’s lives.  i am so thankful that i got to spend endless amounts of time with her.  and how comforting to know we will all be together again some day in glory!!!  she is gone, but the love is still here.  it lives in each of us that were touched by her life.  
out for now
~kisses
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life lessons {part 1}

christmas circa 1977…CUTE baby amy sitting on grandmas lap
my cousins kim and nathan sitting on grandpaps lap

grandmothers tend to have a special place in the hearts of little girls – and my grandma strong certainly had that place in mine.

i grew up living right beside her, which made spending unlimited time with her very easy.  every day i would get off the bus and skip down to her house, knowing that once i entered those doors i would be surrounded in love.  my grandpap always had a wiener and piecie (what i called a hotdog and piece of bread with apple butter) waiting on me.  i would go directly to the kitchen to have my after school snack.  i would always eat it as quickly as i could, knowing sesame street started soon.  i would scarf my food down and run to the living room, so excited to turn the tv on.  but every day grandma would say the same thing “not until you say the 23rd Psalm”.  i would sigh, beg, plead and probably roll my eyes a little but she stuck to her guns.  i could not turn the tv on until i recited it.  i knew she was not going to back down, so i would start off.  i would eventually slip up and say something wrong, which meant going back to the beginning and starting all over again.  i would recite it, over and over, until i did it without mistakes.  sometimes that meant missing the first 10 min. or more of sesame street.  every day we played the same routine, over and over.

my grandma was by no means a fancy lady, but she was class all the way.  she was old school, from the days ladies were classy.  she wore a dress every day of her life.  and even when she did wear pants, she wore them under a dress.  she was never mean or sassy but she wasn’t afraid to tell you her opinion.  she came from the days where women didn’t announce their pregnancy, when women didn’t wear black or red and you wore clothing that covered you from the nape of your neck to your knees.

she was the strongest Christian woman i’ve ever met.  she was kind, respectful, accepting, full of love and never complained about life and the many hardships she endured.  she taught good news club after school in her living room (in the house i live in now) and showed many kids the word of the Lord, His love and grace.  she knew her Bible, inside and out.  and when a jehovahs witness would knock on her door, she wouldn’t turn them away.  she would invite them in, offer them a cup of tea, grab her Bible and discuss it with them for hours on end.

she taught me so many life lessons that i will always carry in my heart.  repeating the 23rd Psalm every day taught me not only repetition and perseverance but also set those words from it deep in my heart.  it taught me to put the Lord before anything in my life.  the 23rd Psalm is so, so very dear to me today.  she taught me to have class, and to teach my daughter to be classy.  she taught me that even during hardships, be thankful for the blessings God gives you every day.

i am so thankful for this dear lady and the amazing part she still has every day in my life.  even though she is gone and rejoicing daily in Glory, she will forever live in my heart.

Psalm 23
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Yea, though i walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

out for now
~kisses

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