The Precious Presence of Grandmothers
What if you only had one job in the world, and it were just to love? How would you do that?
Look at the grandmothers. Their function in the world is to love.
With one grandmother, I loved spending the night there. She didn’t have to plan anything special. It was just the smell of the house, the routine, the ambience. It was the open windows or floor furnace or pedestal fans, the musty toy cabinet, the creepy old closets with animal heads on furs, the wildly purple bathroom with variegated shag carpet, the wood floors when wood was out of style, the roll-top desk with intricate little drawers and dividers and cubbies, her fascinating collection of Avon products. We would watch Days of Our Lives and Miss America or Miss USA whenever we could get together. I would read her Enquirer and Guideposts and Grit. And she had old Nancy Drew books in the glass bookcase.
My other grandmother’s house smelled like wood smoke from the real fireplace and cooking vegetables and the pungent hackberry outside the door. She also had the fascinating closets, crammed with ancient vacuums or clothes from the 50’s, and bookshelves packed with Reader’s Digest Condensed Books or old textbooks and songbooks. There were tucked-away little alcoves where the sun streamed through turquoise and jade and yellow and red glassware. We would watch As the World Turns or Lawrence Welk and I would poke the fire or eat frozen blueberries or strawberries that she saved just for me. I loved every moment in her presence.
As I grew older, just stopping by their houses brought a sense of peace. I knew my mere existence kindled their love and appreciation, and my presence there gave them joy.
As a result, their mere existence brought me peace and joy and appreciation. Just knowing they were alive and loved me made their presence in the world unspeakably valuable. They were there for me. They were always on my side. How powerful is it to know your grandmother is praying for you? If that’s a constant, what a comfort it is.
It’s the stability, the presence, the unconditional “grandparent” love that’s so important for the child. Grandmothers don’t need to be able to do anything to do their job. They can be old or tired or disabled. What the grandkids need is just the presence of the grandmother in their lives, her attention and love, and their knowledge of that love. Anything else is just embellishment.
This kind of love is from God. I John 4 says, “God is love. . . .Love one another, for love comes from God. . . . We loved because He first loved us.” We have learned this sacrificial love from God and we see it demonstrated for us in our grandmothers. Praise to God for loving us first, and thanks and honor to our grandmothers who have modeled it for us.
