My Gran was a crazy old lady. I sometimes think all old ladies are a little crazy, it’s the passing of time that makes you more inclined to let loose I reckon. When you’ve been alive for ages you really don’t care that much about what anyone thinks. You know what life is about because you’ve learned the hard lessons and all you want is enough to get by, the people you love nearby and someone to listen to your stories.
As crazy as she was in her own cute and eccentric way my Gran was a powerhouse of a woman. You did not come between her and a roast dinner or a pair of shoes. She was feisty until the very end. She also loved Jesus and the church. Every Sunday Gran would put on an outfit which would make the Queen of England envious, do her hair, her nails and put on lipstick. Then she would walk all the way to the top of the hill and catch a lift with a friend. Everyone at church loved her, because she was such a character. They also loved her because every year she managed to win the fudge at the Women’s Institute Raffle. Every year. So strange.
Gran was a woman who prayed. When life happened, as it always did, she would get on her hands and knees unafraid to get real with God. I wonder if I will ever know the impact that her long years of quiet prayer have had on the family, and on my life. You can’t put a price on things like that.
I loved spending time with my Gran and I really do believe that my life would be far less rich had I not invested into this relationship. One of the saddest things in life is to be in the presence of greatness and let it pass by.
Find the great people in your life and spend time with them
Who do you have in your life who inspires you? Who do you know who has far more life experience than you do? It doesn’t have to be in a field related to you, but everyone should have someone in their life who makes them see things from a different perspective. The great people also aren’t neccessarily famous, writing books or running big events. Often, the wisest and greatest people are those who are undercover. The crazy little old ladies of the world.
So many Christians make fleeting things their priorities
It makes me so sad to think that people will spend hours watching YouTube videos and yet they can not invest these hours into a real person. When did it become ok to know more about some celebrity “out there” in the cyber world than the people who are in your life? What are your priorities? Are you prioritising things like work, fame or entertainment over people?
Regret is a horrible thing
The one thing people say they often regret is that they never appreciated the people in their life or spent enough time on the things that really matter. Don’t be the person who doesn’t know their Grandmother because having a relationship with her requires patience. Don’t be the person who thinks they “know it all” and never stops to hear the lessons from the rest of the world. Don’t be the person who rights off people because they are “offbeat” or “different”.
I truly believe God loves the idea of family. He loves the idea of community and he created generations. He knew what he was doing. We all need each other – old, young and in-between. It’s been 5 years since my cute Gran passed on to heaven but believe me, she left a legacy. We miss her and her impact probably went far further than she ever imagined. Don’t miss out on the great ones in your life, God put them there as a blessing. Most importantly, don’t miss out on your relationship with your heavenly Father who created you. He is desperate to get to know you.