For Nanny…..

One of the hardest things to experience in life is loss……the loss of a job….the loss of a pet…..the loss of a house….the loss of a friendship….but I believe the heaviest emotional burden to carry is the loss of someone you love.

This past week my family had to say goodbye (for now) to our family Matriarch.  She has always just been such an incredible, gentle, kind, loving lady!  When she wasn’t being silly and goofy (because she was a NUT…the good kind), or chasing one of us grand kids around the house with the flyswatter because we were ducking for cover so she couldn’t swat one of us for some kind of mischief we were into…she carried herself with more grace and self-control than anyone I have ever met!  

There are just SO MANY things I think about when I think about my Nanny, looking back on the 42 years of memories I have with her:

#1 the flyswatter!!  Some grandmothers grab a switch….the flyswatter was my Nanny’s weapon of choice!! 

Her dusting rag that she always had in her hand!!  That woman never quit dusting!! 

Flexing her toes up while she stood in front of the sink washing dishes. (she was ALWAYS barefooted)

Me being a kid and waking up in the upstairs bed and hearing the clinking sound of the spoon in her coffee cup every morning, way before the sun was up.

Her love for raking leaves….yeah I’ll never understand that one?!

Her looooove of music!!!  She always had country music playing on her little kitchen wall radio. 

She loved to dance!!!  It’s because of her I’m a well-rehearsed in dancing the Charleston!!

Her loooooove for laughter!!!!  Good grief she has always been SO quick witted!!  Just hilarious….and she can make ANY situation funny!!!!

And MAAAAN could she cook the best dern country dinners to ever cross your lips!!  I have two words for you….CATHEAD BISCUTS!!

And I can also tell you this, you never left her house empty handed!!  She always had to give you something to take home with you!!  And the funny thing is, it was usually something that had been given to her….that SHE had asked for from who ever gave it to her!!  But all you had to do was complement it and she’d, without hesitation, give it to you!!  I remember that used to bother me (her freely giving things that had been gifted to her.  I think she invented the act of “regifting”….and that used to bother me until one day it hit me…..she really was just THAT selfless.  If you liked something she had, it didn’t matter how much she liked it, she would give it to you….NO hesitation!!!

The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 9:7 that God loves a cheerful giver!!  Nanny was always such a beautiful reflection of that!! 

But you know, Nanny was glue!  She always held everything together!  I was actually reading Proverbs 31 the other day, and it’s hard not think of Nanny when you think of what it means to be a Proverbs 31 woman.  I just hear the ways of Nanny peppered all through this….

She is the exact definition of what the Bible calls

The Wife of Noble Character

Proverbs 31:10-31 says

“A wife of noble character who can find?

She is worth far more than rubies.

Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of

value.

She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life.

She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands.

She gets up while it is still night; she provides food for her

family.

She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for

her tasks.

In her hand she holds the (washcloth)….jk….distaff, and grasps

the spindle with her fingers.

She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to

the needy.

When it snows, she has no fear for her household; for all of

them are clothed in scarlet.

She makes coverings for her bed; she is clothed in fine linen

and purple.

Her husband is respected at the city gate, where he takes his

seat among the elders of the land.

She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the

days to come.

She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her

tongue.

She watches over the affairs of her household and does not

eat the bread of idleness.

Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and

he praises her:

Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.

Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who

fears the Lord is to be praised.

Honor her for all that her hands have done, and let her works

bring her praise at the city gate.”

You know when I read that I feel like I’m reading a day dream….. 

You know?!  Because at my house, I’ve got dinner over cooking on the stove, because I’m trying to tend to Ashton whose throwing an all out terrible two temper tantrum, sprawled out in the middle of the kitchen floor, toys are strowed out all over the place, laundry’s piled up, and I can’t even half the time remember if I’ve brushed my teeth that day!!   

But Nanny handled it ALL…..and with SO much grace!!  She made it look so easy!! 

She had a GIFT for being a wife…and a mother….and a grandmother.  I remember growing up she always had the gentlest touch and the calmest most humble Spirit of anyone I’ve ever known! 

So even though, this time, she’s the one who had to go home, she still made sure she didn’t leave us empty handed…..and what she gave us is this…….it’s US!!  It’s family, it’s friendships, it’s memories, it’s relational bonds, it’s LOVE!!  The greatest gift anyone could ever give or receive is LOVE and my Nanny has never been in short supply.  Today, that gift is ours….it’s YOURS!!! 

I asked this question in my blog last week, but what if those words, “I LOVE YOU, no longer existed?  What if the phrase no longer existed, how would others know?  Do your interactions with the people you value most express love, or do they reflect a different message?

The Bible tells us in 1 John 3:18, 

“Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other;

let us show the truth by our actions.”

My Nanny mastered the art of Love as an action word and no one demonstrated that LOVE with a greater intensity than her!!!  I don’t think there is anyone that knew her that could honestly say they weren’t sure if she loved them! (unless you were that Huddle House waitress that flirted with my Grandpa years ago!)

The Bible tells us in 1 John 4:8 that “Whoever does not love does not know God, because GOD IS LOVE.”

So how are WE supposed to demonstrate THAT kind of love?  Well….if God IS LOVE, then we just need to examine HIS character….the TRUE definition of LOVE!!

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”  1 Corinthians 13:4-7 

WOW!!  You know we’re all called to be a reflection of Jesus….a reflection of HIS character, I don’t know about ya’ll, but I fall short from time to time.  But when I read the nature of Jesus, I can’t think of anyone who truly reflected His love more than my Nanny.

So I want to end with this thought.  Look around you…..just imagine how the relationships in our lives today could be transformed if we decided today to set our hearts and minds to make every attempt to reflect the love we feel towards others by a physical demonstration of God’s definition of “LOVE”!!!  ?  Nanny did it effortlessly, so it IS humanly possible!! 

Before Jesus left to go and prepare a place for us to all be together for all of eternity…..he left us with a command…….and I feel like my Nanny would want me to remind you of the same……because I know she would give the same command……

“This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” John 15:12

Stay authentic my friends,

Crystal