We arrived home not long ago. Do I have enough creative juices flowing in order to write interestingly enough to keep you with me? I don’t know. . . . . .
All in all, the weekend was a lot of fun, a satisfying family sort of fun. We spent Saturday with my husband’s family. The highlight of the day was spending time at Rich’s Grandma’s house and then going to my inlaws to have dinner. We were all together with no one missing—Rich and his 3 brothers, their wives and children and his parents and Grandma, along with her daughter, Aunt Phyllis.
I was sitting out in the livingroom during the meal, with Grandma, and we could see and hear the bustle of everyone else in the kitchen. We were both quiet when out of the blue Grandma said, “Shanda, . . . .it’s times like this when I think of their father.” (her husband) “You know, he died when Willie”. . . (Rich’s Dad and her youngest). . . “was only 8. He didn’t know how they would turn out. I wish he could see them now.”
I almost started crying. I got out of my seat and went to sit on the floor next to her chair. She was holding Jason and Mary’s newborn baby–her 12th great grandchild. And she was sitting there thinking of him, her husband, who had been gone for about 43 years. She talked to me for a few minutes about him and pointed across the room to his photo, hanging on the wall. What struck me was, no one in that room was thinking of him but, to her, he was a very real part of the moment. And, I tried to think how that would be, how I would feel if I were her.
She raised her four children alone after her husband died. She had to work hard.
Rich told me that when he was a little boy he asked Grandma why she didn’t ever get married again and she told him that she never had the desire to marry anyone else after husband died. He said that after she said that, she went in her room and cried.
When we go to her trailer, a warm, spotlessly clean, homey place, it is always always peaceful. She is a quiet, God-loving old lady. She is ninety years old. She loves to talk to the children and to us. She laughs, too, which I admire. . . . .she is content and happy without one trace of bitterness ever in her voice.
I am convinced, completely convinced that it is because of her prayers that Rich loves the Lord with all his heart today. I know it is so. She feels the burdens of her family heavily and it comes out in her prayers.
You should have seen her giving away some of her earthly treasures on Saturday. She has 2 granddaughters and 4 grandsons. My husband is one of them. . .and I, as his wife, was there along with the other wives. 6 of us in all stood around a loaded table and one by one chose the items we thought were pretty. After we made our selection we went over to Grandma’s chair and she explained where she got it and what it meant to her.
“Oh, that’s just a modern dish”, she said with genuine sorrow over my first choice, “I’m afraid that isn’t valuable. I loved the pattern and wished I could buy the set.” (It is a Homer Laughlin plate and I was perfectly happy)
“That was given to me as a young girl by the next door neighbor. I must have done something for her and she gave that to me. I’ve always loved it.” (It’s a little ceramic basket that some remember her keeping soap in)
“That is called satin-glass. I believe it is called a hair-catcher. You know, ladies used to save their hair. It belonged to my mother.” (I kid you not, it is the same color of Grandma’s eyes.)
“Oh,” she was excited over my next choice of a pretty pink-glass vase, “That was given to me on my 50th birthday.”
And, about a covered glass dish, “That was given to Clarence and I when we were married. My parents gave it to me. There is a plate that goes with it that you may have.”
There were a few more pieces that I got. A glass cake stand (that she put 3-layer cakes on, “I’ll give you the cake pans, too, remind me” she said). A relish dish, a tea cup, a vase, and a cookbook.
I had to swallow tears there, too, because we were emptying out her china cabinet. Everything. She gave it all away.
“I’ll have fun seeing everything in your homes. I hope you enjoy it all as much as I did.”
“Oh, don’t you worry” she laughed when Aunt Phyllis remarked about the empty china cabinet, “I have some things I will put in there.”
She gave so cheerfully. She was so genuinely pleased to give us her things and trusted us completely. I would’ve been like, “Here, sign this contract that you will never give these things away or break them”. No, not her! She simply gave.
It hurt me and it hurts me to unwrap her things in my house. However, I also loved it and I was honored. Both at the same time. I find her inspiring and would like to do the same with my things when I am old.
Her name is Sarah Lillian. Her friends call her Lillian and that is my daughter’s middle name, we gave it to her in honor of Grandma, who helped raise Rich and his brothers after his parents were divorced. His dad moved in with Grandma for a while. . . . .another story of many more I could tell you about her.
She is a wonderful lady. I love her so. We treasure every moment we have with her now, and hope God lets her stay for many years to come.
Good to be Home 
I have some special things my Grandma gave me, and a locket that belonged to my Great Grandma. It’s nice to have these sweet connections to the past.
…another precious post….
What a beautiful lady! You can see it in her eyes!
This post made me cry…what a treasure this lady is!
xoxo Cat
She gave her treasures but she is the biggest treasure. This is beautiful and I’m still choking back the tears. A beautiful woman with a beautiful soul and you are very lucky indeed to know her and love her.
She looks much younger than her years :o) The “giving away” happened with my husband’s grandfather, too. It did not seem to be his choice, though, so it didn’t seem right. It seemed like it hurt him so much to watch it happen. The difference was that your Sarah Lillian made the choice. Something to remember about growing old gracefully when our time comes……..thanks for sharing…….
I loved this. Thank you so much for sharing.
I want to be like that when I grow up.
What a sweet post! Lillian has quite a legecy that she is going to leave behind one day. What a loving and thoughtful woman. I really enjoyed reading her comments on each of your gifts from her. Sounds like a wonderful weekend!
What great treasures!!! Grandma being the most precious one!!!
Thanks for sharing. Blessings
What a sweet story. I LOVE Grandmas, I hold mine close to my heart.
How absolutely moving. And how wonderful that she gave these things in such a fashion. The story of each item is more precious than the item. Now, the story is with the item and can be passed along with it!
What a sweet post. I loved hearing the stories about each item. I love older people that have wonderful stories about their lives. It brings tears to my eyes, but they are tears of admiration for her kindness and her love for her husband. She is definitely a treasure.
I’m moved and identifying with you right now. Ohhhhh…the emotions!!! How lovely that you have something to pass down to Grace from her great-gma.
This post makes me think of my great grandma Mizell. Oh, she was a lovely Christian woman, who just let love radiate through her to others. I have so many wonderful memories of us together. I can’t wait to see her again, in heaven. thank you for sharing this heart felt and touching post. Enjoy your treasures, I am sure you will think of her often as you see them in your own home.
What a beautiful, moving tribute.
My eyes have filled with tears. I can think only of my sweet mother-in-law, with Jesus now for more than a year, who gave to me with love and without restraint countless treasures from the moment I walked in her door as a stranger. Oh Shanda, hold tight to the precious memories you made this weekend! Time goes so quickly, and moments are fleeting! I cannot write any more now ~ I do not have the words.
This is such a sweet, full of emotion post….and those dishes are beautiful~
Just reading this post filled me with warmth and loving appreciation for my own husband’s grandmother. Like you, I am convinced that much of his character and love for the Lord are due to her prayers. Like your husband’s grandmother, our Granny is so completely selfless, content, and happy. Not a trace of bitterness. I pray my elderly years will find me the same, by God’s grace!You expressed your thoughts and feelings so beautifully in this post. Thank you for sharing a piece of your intimate family time – I was blessed and reminded to enjoy my grandmothers while they are still with us.
This post touched my heart deeply. I love the way you wrote about Sarah Lillian. What a special lady. She is an inspiration. And another thing – that picture you posted of the tea cup and saucer? I have a blue and white plate and 2 cups with saucers that match the blue and white plate that the tea cup and saucer are sitting on!! (now I feel connected to your family. 🙂
“I am convinced, completely convinced that it is because of her prayers that Rich loves the Lord with all his heart today. I know it is so. She feels the burdens of her family heavily and it comes out in her prayers.” … oh how this reminds me of my husband’s grandmother. I’ll never forget her godly example to me and her words when she first met me — Steve knocked on her door with me standing next to him — Gigi opened the door, looked at him, looked at me and exclaimed with such joy, “I never thought I’d see the day!” I knew at that moment that she knew Steve and I would be married, that somehow she had been praying for me. Sure enough, that weekend, Steve asked me to be his wife, and I grew in love and admiration for his praying grandmother during the next ten years until she went home to her Lord and to her husband, from whom she had been separated on earth for 40 years.
From the number of comments posted, many “stayed with you” throughout your story. One thing you said pierced me the most: “….she simply gave.” Everything….she gave it all. Cheerfully. Our Savior did the same….He gave His all for us. I loved this story…..it showed me how selfish I really am. Thank you, Grandma Sarah Lillian.
such a sweet post, I am commenting with tears in my eyes…
Lillian . . . always has a smile on her face and is always encouraging me. She is a woman after Gods own heart and it was nice to read some of the things from her past that I didn’t know about. I didn’t know that she was a widow for that long! My heart breaks for her. Her generosity is such an example to me and I would love to do the same thing before I die if given the opportunity. Your post brought me to tears. I had a moment like that with Great Grandma once and it was so neat. I love hearing their stories of the past and seeing the happiness they felt. Lillian has a great testimony and you are so blessed to have her in your life.
How blessed you all are to have this godly example of selfless love in your lives. She looks so much younger than ninety and so radiantly beautiful. She reminds me of Sarah in the Bible…she was even a beautiful woman in her old age. Rich’s grandma is beautiful inside and out.I too have tears here. Your children will remember this woman and tell the stories to their children. How beautiful.
A treasure indeed!
Oh, Shan..what a treasure she is! And blessed that you see her as such! I enjoyed reading this post and felt as if I was there with you!
Your post brought tears to my eyes as well. We went through the same thng when Roger’s Grandma moved into her appartment. She got rid of a lot of thing also – she actually gave each of us some of her items wraped up for Chistmas with an index card with the story of the dish writen out. Such a treasure!
LoveYou!
Colleen
My eyes are so brim full I can barely type this. You wrote beautifully Shanda. She came out, the moment is here with me now. I have a few things of my grandmothers but it was not given so graciously! What an inspiration. Oh how I want to be like this beloved lady with such a sweet smile when I am 90. God may it be so. Thank you tender person. With renewed love and blessings, M in SC
Sarah Lillian is beautiful and doesn’t look the number of her age at all! I pray that God allows her to stay too because although I don’t know her personally, I know she makes the world a better place. Again, thank you for sharing.`
What treasures you have in both her possessions and your memories. Thank you for sharing a bit of her with us. She sounds like a wonderful lady to know.
What a precious tribute to “Grandma” – and a reminder to the rest of us “grandma’s” to hold our earthly “treasures” with open hands! Indeed our families are the REAL treasures!
What keepsakes I haven’t yet given away, I have made digital pictures and notations on each item and have it in my computer so family will know that item’s history if I can’t tell them.
How precious to be able to share that time together. ❤ Family and memories are such a treasure. She sounds like an outstanding woman! 🙂
I read about David and your need for someone to watch your kids. God has laid it on my heart to offer to help, if it’s a day that I can do so. So let me know what day you need, and if you would like, I can see about watching them. Just let me know what your needs are and I’d like to help.
Oh my. This is quite the stuff that life is made of…it brought a tear to my eye…I too have many of my grandma’s treasures. Most all of them are on display now, she had them boxed up and I never knew they existed. She always said, that she would use them in her “new” house. Well, my grandma is in her new home now in Heaven. : ) I hope she knows how much I enjoy the pretty things.
It sounds like the entire day was a treasure. She is truly a beautiful person. She simply gave, yes that is how my grandma was too, lived simply but would give it all away if she could have.
Your profile pic is very, very pretty Shanda. Hope all is well your way too….it’s been a trying couple of weeks but God teaches me so many lessons and He is so good to me. My mom is doing better praise the Lord. : ) Hugs, ~Amelia
This is a lovely post. Rich’s grandma did in a very special way what many of our grandmas do in giving her treasures to her loved ones when she could enjoy seeing each of you receive pieces that meant something to you — and then relaying the story of each piece so that you could pass it on. It’s difficulty for everybody, as it signals the end of an era, but for her, it was a special way to share herself with you forever. Thank you for sharing this special lady and her special ceremony with us!
“She raised her four children alone after her husband died. She had to work hard. ” – my grandmother did the same – my grandfather dying when my dad was 12 — she raised three boys, my dad being the oldest – and worked very hard. I have so admired her endurance in life. She never would speak of grandfather until recently… so many years later… I am learning now about the man he was. He sounds very much like my father.thanks for sharing~ blessings to you ~lys
What a precious lady. Thank you for sharing her words. She’s a blessing to her family.Hugs