Friday, May 29, 2015

This Week with Grandma

Don't suppress your feelings just because someone else doesn't like them.

Share what's on your mind, even if it isn't popular.

Look out for the underdog. You might be the only one caring for them.

Give love. Even when you aren't loved back.

These are the things I learned from Grandma this week.
We sat for a long while at the table after lunch and Grandma poured out her heart. She talked about life and family, good memories and hard ones, joys and regrets. Occasionally she would say something like, "Maybe I'm talking too much," but I think we both know that wasn't true.
What a gift it was for me to be able to re-live some of those moments with her, to see into her heart, and to learn from her experiences. And I think it was good for Grandma, too, to be able to visit those memories once again.
I know the reality of our lives is that we're often too busy to spend an hour or more at the table. But what a beautiful thing it is to sit and talk. Better yet, to just sit and listen.
I wonder...
What would happen if we chose to set aside other things so we had time to sit with each other?

Karen

3 comments:

Sara K. said...

How blessed you are, Karen! To have the time with your grandma -- and be in the place in life where you recognize how precious that time is!! My grandma was very wise too -- and I have vague memories of her kindness, gentleness, and her love for the Lord -- but I was only 21 when she went to be with Jesus. If I knew THEN what I know now, I would have asked more questions and listened even more. :) What a sweet gift you have!

Karen Hossink said...

Sara - Yes. I am blessed to be here and now. :)
And I'm curious. Is this: "and be in the place in life where you recognize how precious that time is" a p.c. way of saying I'm "old"? *wink*

Sara K. said...

Haha! :) You're funny! It is rather fascinating to me, though, how the gathering of life experiences helps us see things of true beauty/value *ahem* as we get more years under our belt. ;)